New research from Anglian Home Improvements has revealed the surprising lengths Brits go to to spy on people next door, with a third of people admitting to regular curtain twitching, 27 percent saying they turn the television down to listen to arguments, 15 percent peeping over the garden fence to get a better look at their neighbours – and as many as one in ten regularly coming out into the street in their dressing gown, in the style of Last of the Summer Wine’s Nora Batty.

However, the research also claimed that the Welsh capital was home to the nosiest neighbours, with habits being so bad that one in ten admit to even being fascinated by the normal comings and goings of their neighbours.

Respondents didn’t just peep over the curtains either – they admitted to devious means like offering to take neighbours’ kids to school to get all the gossip, taking parcels round to get a look inside, inviting themselves over to take a closer look at home improvements, and even sneaking a peek through letterboxes.

However, according to the poll, as many as one in twenty have EVEN gone through a neighbour’s belongings while they were supposed to be feeding their pets or watering their plants.

Nearly a quarter (23 percent) of UK adults class their neighbours as good friends, but 60 percent brushed them off as ‘people they talk to from time to time’. One in ten said they didn’t know any of their neighbours and one in twenty claimed they couldn’t stand them.

Over a third (35 percent) said they were often envious of their neighbours’ home improvements, with a new car and new kitchen the most common things to be jealous of.

One in ten were green with envy when nearby residents got a new front door, and one in five were left bitter and twisted when they purchased a new sofa. Loft conversions, new windows and fancy conservatories also left Brits envious.

A spokesperson for Anglian Home Improvements who commissioned the poll of 1,000 people said:

“From time to time we are all guilty of seeing what our neighbours get up to. It’s only natural to have a look out of the window if you see something going on in your neighbourhood and to take an interest when someone is having work done to their house. 

“Although it may seem annoying to have neighbours who curtain twitch, having nearby residents who know your movements can actually be a blessing when it comes to home security, so it’s actually not all bad!”

According to the poll, the average Brit hears their neighbours having a blazing row approximately eight times a year, and 12 percent of us admit to trying to hear what they are fighting about.

But 15 percent of those surveyed said it really annoyed them when their neighbours interfered in their business.

58 percent of men who completed the poll said their wives and girlfriends were much more likely to curtain twitch than they were.

Despite keeping tabs on their comings and goings, 70 percent of adults are happy to take in parcels for their neighbours, half are willing to keep an eye out if any other residents go on holiday, and ten percent are even happy to babysit their neighbours’ children.