Three-quarters of Brummies are in a neighbourhood WhatsApp group for chatting about litter and calling out unruly neighbours

New research from online estate agents Purplebricks reveals nearly eight in ten (79%) Birmingham residents follow the latest local dramas in a group chat with people living along their street.

Almost nine in ten (89%) people mainly use the chat for ‘general updates’ about the area, while nearly half (48%) say they are in these chats for ‘safety or crime prevention purposes’.

The two biggest conversation topics are ‘calling out bad or annoying behaviour of neighbours’ (44%) and discussing ‘local events’ (42%).

Three in ten residents in Britain’s second city say their chat is a platform for discussing their ‘litter concerns’ (38%), while others say it is used for ‘calling out bad parking’ (35%).

The weather is also a regular talking point in a quarter (25%) of chats in Birmingham.

Membership of WhatsApp chats in Birmingham is slightly lower compared to the rest of the UK, which is at 88%, according to a survey of 2,000 adults from across the nation.

Two in 10 (21%) UK adults keep their local street chat on ‘mute’ while nearly as many (18%) admit they would love to leave, but feel it is too awkward to do so.

Nearly a quarter (23%) of Brits said they would be prepared to banish a neighbour from the group if their chat etiquette became rowdy or unwelcome.

More men (87%) than women (82%) are in local WhatsApp chats, and membership is most prevalent among the youngest generation of adults, with interest waning as people get older.

Gen Z leads the way with a staggering nine in ten (91%) saying they are members of a street chat group. Millennials (87%) and Gen X (82%) are close behind, with eight in 10 involved.

Three-quarter (77%) of Britain’s Baby Boom generation are members of local chats.

Scots are the nosiest neighbours with nine in 10 (95%) admitting they’re in a local WhatsApp chat. Yorkshire and Humber has the fewest chat members, with seven in 10 (77%) in a group.

Tom Evans, Sales Director at Purplebricks Estate Agency, said: “Every man’s home is his castle, as they say, it’s no wonder he wants to know what’s going on beyond the ramparts.”