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Rockstar Brian May has demanded a meeting with the Mayor of London over mega-basements which he says are “literally destroying” lives in wealthy London neighbourhoods.

The Queen guitarist said he had seen people suffer “nervous breakdowns and even death” because of the stress caused by the developments.

His comments come after the announcement of plans for Britain’s first “basement tax” in a fresh crackdown on so-called iceberg homes.

Residents in Westminster will have to pay an average levy of £8,000 to secure planning permission for the often hugely unpopular subterranean excavations under the new rules.

But Mr May criticised the move as “hardly an effective deterrent” because “unspeakably selfish” people would still carry out projects that often add up to £1million to a property’s value.

The rocker, who has lived Kensington for 15 years, told Mail Online: “I have seen some of our neighbours suffer nervous breakdowns, and even death, due to continuous stress caused by these appalling intrusions on their private life.

“Their home life is literally destroyed.”

He added London-wide action was needed to “stop this destruction of our quality of life”.

He said: “I'm hoping to meet The Mayor of London to discuss this matter in the near future.

“London should be a haven for its residents, not for unscrupulous foreign investors and rich bullies.”

Westminster Council’s new fee, the first of its kind, will raise money to pay for a dedicated basement enforcement team of 15 officials who will monitor whether construction work complies with restrictions on noise, working hours and number of truck deliveries.

The so-called “sub squad” will also act as a point of contact for complaints about neighbours who are carrying out excavations.

The move follows a huge surge in the number of planning applications for vast basements, some with facilities such as swimming pools, saunas, gyms and cinema rooms over the past decade.