NEIGHBOURS in Cowley are being told to calm down and sort out local disputes because too many of them are rowing.

Police have noticed a “large rise” in disputes in the Oxford suburb with seven current disputes they are looking in to – including one which has been raging for 13 years.

Pcso Natalie Thrussell, who patrols the area around Templars Square and Florence Park in Cowley, last night appealed for people in their area to try to solve their problems quickly rather than letting them get out of hand.

Sometimes residents have been calling the police three or four times a day to complain about their gripes, she said.

Police said most neighbourhoods had one or two neighbour disputes, but early this year Ms Thrussell had up to nine on her beat alone.

Common disputes include inconsiderate or dangerous parking, rubbish left in shared alleyways or communal areas, overhanging trees and disputes over boundaries and ownership.

Pcso Thrussell would not identify where the disputes were occurring, or what they were about, for fear of identifying the parties involved.

But she said: “It always starts off with something simple that they don’t feel they can talk to their neighbour about.

“Over time they become incensed and angry about it.

“Where up until then they had said ‘Good morning’ to each other, they just stop speaking, the relationship deteriorates and it’s very hard to come back from. If a TV is noisy and blaring through the wall every single day it builds up and consumes people’s lives and they see their neighbour as this evil being.”

Pcso Thrussell said a polite knock on the door to explain the problem calmly would put an end to most problems.

But she said some residents felt they could not speak to their neighbours and went straight to the authorities, immediately angering those next door.

She said: “While we don’t want to discourage people from reporting antisocial behaviour to us, we ask that people aree sure they can’t deal with the problem themselves before involving the police.”

“You may just find that by approaching your neighbour in a friendly and polite way your problem is solved and you can go on to enjoy an amicable and civil relationship with them.

“If, however, you feel you are unable to deal with any issue of antisocial behaviour your local neighbourhood police team are here to help.”

One of the most high-profile neighbourhood disputes was the case of Keith Quartermain, who taunted his neighbours in Abingdon by singing at them, setting up a laughing machine and erecting abusive signs in his garden.