The UK’s worst parkers revealed – most live in the south-west… and a third of British motorists experience a ‘racing heart’ when manoeuvering in a tight spot
- Plymouth was a close second in the ranking, drawn up from a nationwide survey
- One in six drivers admitted they hate people watching them get into a tight spot
- READ MORE: Britain’s rudest drivers – BMW owners are No.1 for bad behaviour
It’s official, if you want to hold onto your bumpers, don’t leave your car parked in the Cornish city of Truro, which is home to the worst parkers in the UK, according to a nationwide survey.
Two thousand motorists across the UK were asked to rank their parking skills as either ‘terrible’, ‘bad’, ‘average’, ‘good’, or ‘excellent’ – with 14 per cent, the highest percentage, of those from the Cornish town confessing they are ‘terrible’, compared to a national average of just five per cent.
Coming a close second in the list was another west country city, Plymouth (13 per cent), followed by Norwich (12 per cent) in third.
Brighton (10 per cent) emerged as the fourth worst, while Sheffield (nine per cent) completed the top five in the UK’s list of poor parkers.
Some 14 per cent of drivers in Truro, pictured, confessed they are ‘terrible’ at parking compared to the national average of just five per cent
Plymouth, pictured, ranked a close second with 13 per cent of drivers saying they are ‘terrible’ at parking
The first entry from Scotland was Edinburgh (eight per cent), which ranked in joint sixth place with Nottingham.
There was a slight improvement in Birmingham where seven per cent of motorists described themselves as ‘terrible’ parkers, putting the city in eighth place.
This was followed by Manchester and Liverpool in joint ninth place, with six per cent of drivers saying they were ‘terrible’ at parking.
On the flip side, the research from Little Tikes found that the UK’s most confident parkers live in Cardiff, where more than half of drivers (53 per cent) consider themselves to be ‘excellent’ at it.
This was followed by Oxford (51 per cent) and Bristol (46 per cent).
Overall, more than four in five motorists (84 per cent) agreed that parking is the most stressful part of driving.
The survey also shows that UK drivers argue, on average, three times a month with other people about parking.
Around a third (34 per cent) said their heart often races when it is time to park, while a quarter (25 per cent) admit they get sweaty palms.
Norwich, pictured, ranked in third place, with 12 per cent of drivers saying their parking was ‘terrible’
One in ten people in Brighton, pictured, admitted to being ‘terrible’ parkers, putting the seaside destination in a firm fourth place
Nearly half (46 per cent) of motorists claim they hate having people watching them try and get into a tight spot.
A sixth (17 per cent) say they always hit the curb, while a further 15 per cent have trouble getting between the lines in a supermarket car park.
To add extra stress, three in five (60 per cent) have been made fun of by family or friends for bad parking.
But the older you get the better at parking you become, the survey suggests, as the over-60s emerged as the most confident demographic among those quizzed.
Almost half (49 per cent) said they were pretty good parkers compared to just 39 per cent of the youngest drivers, aged 18 to 29.
Alaina Cornish, senior brand manager at Little Tikes, said: ‘Judging by the research, even outside of Truro and Plymouth, the nation’s drivers are prone to their fair share of parking stress.’
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