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Leaf blowing sparks more wars with neighbours than anything else as Jeremy Clarkson rants

A study asked 1,000 Brits what they found was biggest sin committed by their neighbours and the noisy leaf blower is so enraging for many that they sought out revenge

[a leaf blower ]

This garden chore is maddening for lots of people (Image: Getty Images)

Leaf blowers cause more tit-for-tat wars with neighbours than anything else, a study has found.

Researchers polled 1,000 Brits to find out the most irritating behaviours committed by next-door neighbours. They found that using a leaf blower was the top peeve, which enraged us so much we sought revenge, often by doing exactly the same thing to annoy them.

TV star-turned farmer Jeremy Clarkson said recently that he found leaf blowers maddening, saying: Theres nothing more annoying than somebody elses leaf blower. The study by Toolstation - which has more than 500 branches in the UK - found that 33% of those polled said the leaf blower was enemy number one.

[Woman using a leaf blower to clear autumn leaves from the driveway.]

Leaf blowing many be fun for you - but not for your neighbours(Image: Getty Images)

A total of 51% said that had confronted their neighbour over noisy or irritating activities - and said they had plotted revenge by making their own racket just to vex their neighbours.

Jeremy Watson, 42, of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, said that he got his own back on a new neighbour who started gardening at 8am every weekend, much to his chagrin.

[Jeremy Clarkson ]

Jeremy Clarkson admitted he can't stand leaf blowers(Image: Getty Images)

Asked to choose which habits left them seething with rage - and determined to seek revenge by doing something equally annoying - those polled voted as follows:

1. Leaf blowing - 33%
2. Revving motorbike/car - 31%
3. Bonfires - 28%
4. Shouting - 24%
5. Singing - 14%
6. Having a party - 9%
7. Hammering/drilling - 8%
8. BBQ smoke/smell - 7%
9. Mowing the lawn - 4%
10. Pressure washing the drive - 4%

He said: New neighbours moved in last summer and every weekend it was the leaf blower, the mower, and the strimmer - all going from 8am on Saturdays and Sundays.

I went round to welcome him to the neighbourhood, but at the same time asked if could lay off starting so early at the weekends.

He added: He got really cross and refused, so I started doing my gardening at 7am, and that really p****d him off.

He said the pair eventually agreed not to make a noise until at least 9am - and that they now got on fine.

A spokesman for Toolstation said: If your morning lie-in has been disturbed by a leaf blower, loud singing or the whirr of lawnmower blades, you are not alone.

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