Communities were blighted by around 14 million incidents of anti-social behaviour last year, according to new figures.

Around 3.5 million calls, about 45 per cent of all calls to police, were related to anti-social behaviour (ASB), but experts believe only a quarter of such incidents were reported.

Sir Denis O'Connor, the chief inspector of constabulary, said that while police often do not see tackling anti-social behaviour as "real policing", for the public it was no different from other crimes.

"For them, it's just a sliding scale of grief," he said. "The core difficulty in developing a coherent response to ASB is the breadth of the term and the fact that it means different things to different people and organisations.

"For victims of ASB, the experience tends to be a cumulative, corrosive issue that undermines their ability to live in peace ... Those who suffer ASB experience varied levels of harm.

"But in nearly all cases, repeat victims experience far higher levels of impact ... This is exacerbated and amplified for repeat victims who define themselves as disabled and/or suffer ill-health."

Rowdy, noisy or inconsiderate behaviour accounted for the "overwhelming majority" of reported events, with 2.1 million calls making up 61 per cent of all incidents of anti-social behaviour.