The vast majority of people in the UK get extremely hot under the collar when they witness examples of poor parking.

New research by Confused.com shows 84 per cent of Britons are angered by bad parking, despite the fact 41 per cent admit they are not particularly good at it themselves.

Some 40 per cent of respondents to the website's study said they believe selfish parkers should face fines, while 12 per cent would even support more drastic action to deter bad parking, such as towing cars away.

People aged 25 to 34 are the worst offenders when it comes to selfish parking, with 66 per cent of those in this age range confessing to leaving their vehicle in an unacceptable position. Overall, 11 per cent said they have blocked another car in when parking at some point.

A number of reasons are given for substandard parking, including being in a rush (48 per cent of people admitted to this), being unable to find a suitable space (29 per cent), thinking the fact there were few other cars around made leaving theirs fine (22 per cent) and finding a town so busy that parking anywhere was the only option (19 per cent).

Gemma Stanbury, head of car insurance at Confused.com, said: "The reason behind such bad parking seems to be that some drivers on our roads today may struggle with parking their car, or are too rushed to take the time to think of other drivers around them. However, we urge motorists to exercise good car parking etiquette and think of other motorists."

Local authorities who believe this is a problem in their area are advised to employ more people in parking jobs in London especially, to ensure drivers are adhering to the rules and leaving their cars in the right places.

There will always be people who break the regulations in their town or city, with eight per cent indicating they feel it is acceptable to park illegally or inconsiderately when they are out to pick up an important purchase.