THOUSANDS of complaints about noise and rubbish were made to four Gwent councils during a two-year period, it has been revealed.

Around 24,895 complaints were made to Welsh local authorities last year – the equivalent of 68 complaints per day, or three every hour, between August 1, 2016 and July 31, 2017.

Statutory nuisance complaints, which include noise disruption and rubbish accumulation, also increased in Wales by five per cent from 2015/16 – despite UK figures falling by 2.4 per cent.

A total of 383 noise abatement notices arose from complaints regarding noise in 2016/17 – a fall of 19 per cent on the previous year.

Councils are required to investigate any complaints which impact on a person’s health or cause disturbance to them in their homes.

Analysis from Churchill Home Insurance shows that four authorities in Gwent dealt with 12,432 statutory nuisance complaints between 2015/16 and 2016/17.

The firm’s head of insurance, Martin Scott, described the figures as a “a worrying indictment of modern society”.

Within the two-year period, the most common complaints received by Newport, Monmouthshire and Caerphilly councils related to noise.

But most complaints made in Torfaen related to rubbish, while figures for Blaenau Gwent council were unavailable:

Newport: 3,178 complaints in 2015/16, 3,180 in 2016/17

Torfaen: 424 in 2015/16, 472 in 2016/17

Monmouthshire: 453 in 2015/16, 505 in 2016/17

Caerphilly: 1,442 in 2015/16, 1,429 in 2016/17.

More than 383 noise abatement notices were issued by councils last year, with 13 issued in Newport, seven in Caerphilly, five in Torfaen and one each in Monmouthshire and Blaenau Gwent.

Since March 2017, residents in Newport have been able to lodge complaints with the council by using a free mobile app.

Each of the regional councils has an environmental team dedicated to investigating each individual complaint.

“We consider the health and wellbeing of our residents a key priority, and tackling nuisance complaints, including issues around noise, are high on the agenda for us,” said Labour councillor Eluned Stenner, cabinet member for environment in Caerphilly.

“We operate a multi-agency approach to tackling such issues, working proactively with housing providers, mediation services and others to successfully resolve issues for our residents.”

Monmouthshire head of public protection, David Jones, added: “There is no specific definition as to what may constitute a statutory nuisance so each case is considered with regard to its particular circumstances.

“Noise complaints in Monmouthshire have accounted for 65 to 70 percent of the statutory nuisance complaints in recent years, with complaints of noise from dog barking most common, followed by domestic disturbance (rowdy behaviour, doors slamming) and loud music.”