New plans would involve something called a “community trigger”, which would force police and officials to act after a certain number of complaints. The government is also planning to reduce the number of antisocial crimes from 19 to six, in an attempt to simplify the system.

Mrs May told BBC Breakfast this morning, "We're going to look at enabling the community or individuals... to say to the police or local authority 'excuse me, you've got to do something'. For most people, if they report something once, then they want something done about it - but it's about getting the balance right.

"The government will actually do its bit to help by... making things much more flexible, much easier, much quicker to put into place so the police and local authorities will have the tools that they need to respond to what is going wrong at their local level,” she added.

These new plans will replace the much-derided ASBO system, reports on which suggested they were being treated as a badge of honour.

In their place will be criminal behaviour orders, which will prevent antisocial individuals doing certain things or going to certain places.

However, Labour have called the new proposals a “weak rebranding”.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said, "The government's new measures are a weaker rebrand, making it harder for the police, councils and housing associations to take tough enforcement action when people's lives are made a misery by anti-social bullies or nuisance neighbours.

"All complaints should be dealt with, and quickly: no-one wants to wait for the government's slow trigger."