Co-op Insurance and Neighbourhood Watch have launched Neighbour of the Year Awards and online data has revealed that medics are the top neighbour of choice for British people.
A total of 14 per cent of those surveyed in Scotland would most like to live next door to a medical professional including a nurse, doctor, dentist or paramedic as many believe their skills might be useful in a crisis.
Retired people came in second in the poll as the ideal person to live next door to with builders holding the position of third place.
The survey sample of over also revealed the qualities that make the “perfect” neighbour. In Scotland, 83 per cent agreed that neighbours should be friendly but not nosy.
Almost half (49 per cent) confirmed that neighbours who are willing to do small jobs – such as receiving parcels, watering plants and picking up the post while they are on holiday – are all top traits.
Quiet neighbouring households ranked highly, with 45 per cent saying that neighbours with no, or quiet children is considered the ideal, while 34 per cent said the same about pets.
And 51 per cent said that checking in on the vulnerable or elderly is the trait of an ideal neighbour.
Co-op Insurance and Neighbourhood Watch are working with Hannah Ingram-Moore, daughter of Captain Sir Tom Moore and co-founder of The Captain Tom Foundation, to find the nation’s most remarkable neighbours .
Hannah said: “The compassion and support that people across the world showed to my father and family was staggering.”
Neighbourly relations in the UK seem to be in good form with a quarter of adults claiming to be “good friends” with their neighbours and almost a third would trust their neighbour with the burglar alarm code or key to their home.
Hannah added: “The lockdown has helped millions of people see the value in their neighbours.”
To nominate your neighbour, young neighbour or community of the year please visit https://www.coop.co.uk/noty.
Experienced news, business, arts, sport and travel journalist. Food critic and managing editor of a well-established food and travel website. Also a magazine editor of publications with circulations of up to 200,000 and managing director of a long-established PR/marketing company with a string of blue-chip clients in its CV. Former communications lecturer at a Scottish university and social media specialist for a string of successful and busy SMEs.
