Everyone has had a lovely day ruined or been woken up by a persistent and annoying noise radiating through their homes from outside. Up until now the worst noise has been heavily debated between friends, family and colleagues, but now the country has spoken and decided that builders’ hammers, drills and shouting are the most annoying.

Building Materials, a construction supply company based in Maidenhead, surveyed over a thousand people, with construction work coming out narrowly on top. The noises of drilling and banging took top spot in the survey with a vote of 27 per cent, with construction noises annoying more women than men.

With more and more buildings being built, it would appear that the noises created by construction workers will become a permanent part of people’s lives. But that doesn’t mean it will get any less annoying.

A close second on the list went to car and house alarms, which received 23 per cent of the vote. Since the invention of alarms, people have been annoyingly kept awake or woken up, by unanswered alarms, but it wasn’t deemed bad enough to trump building work.

In third place was noisy neighbours. As more and more semi-detached houses are being built, loud noises from next door are becoming more of a problem. Loud music and shouting are the main culprits when it comes to annoying your neighbours through the thin walls.

Fourth place went to animals. People particularly find dogs barking a real pet hate. And the final position on the list goes to children playing or crying. Babies crying in the middle of the night, toddlers having tantrums and the noise created by groups of small children are annoying people on a regular basis.