CHRISTMAS is approaching at an incredible speed and to herald the season of goodwill we’ve had a survey showing the majority of us in Lancashire don’t know our next-door neighbours.

A few decades ago such a suggestion would have been dismissed as ridiculous but times have changed.

New housing developments have sprung up to replace terraced streets right across East Lancashire.

Even though many of the estate homes are actually smaller than the so-called ‘slums’ they replaced they are designed to try and ensure residents get maximum privacy.

That means they strive to minimise people coming into contact with their neighbours even though having much thinner walls than Victorian properties does mean they may well be heard if not seen!

The nature of these estates also means most home owners come from a wide area and start without any connection to the neighbourhood.

Only young children and primary schools are likely to bring adults together.

Long working hours mean fewer parents are able to get involved with their youngsters in after-school activities.

In countryside locations things have changed dramatically too.

The decline of rural boozers and conversion of barns and cottages into ‘executive residences’ has turned villages into dormitory towns for commuters.

During the day there’s hardly anyone around and in the evenings people are too tired to do anything but flop in front of the television.

Husbands and wives who might in the past have met up and chatted in the village post office or shop now can’t – because there aren’t any.

If they do bump into neighbours in the nearest supermarket there’s scarcely time to do more than exchange a sentence or two without causing a trolley jam.

Add to that the recent warning from police that the majority of the county’s burglaries are caused because we dare to leave our back doors unlocked and it’s little wonder we are leading such isolated lives.

If you think, like me, that all this is a real shame then now is the time to ask the neighbours in for a seasonal get-together – if you can get through the electric gates or persuade them to answer the door to a stranger!