Truro is home to the UK’s worst parkers

It’s official, if you want to hold on to your bumpers, don’t leave your car parked in the Cornish town of Truro, home to the worst parkers in the UK, according to a nationwide survey.

Two thousand UK drivers were asked to rate their parking skills as ‘Terrible’, ‘Poor’, ‘Average’, ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’ – with 14 per cent, the highest proportion, of those from the Cornish town admitting they are “terrible,” compared to a national average of just five percent.

A close second in the list was another city in the west of the country, Plymouth (13 per cent), followed by Norwich (12 per cent) in third place.

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.

Plymouth, pictured, is a close second with 13 per cent of motorists saying they park ‘horribly’

The first entry from Scotland was Edinburgh (8 per cent), which shared 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’ when parking.

On the other hand, the research of Little Tikes found that the UK’s most confident parkers live in Cardiff, where more than half of drivers (53 per cent) consider themselves ‘excellent’.

This is followed by Oxford (51 percent) and Bristol (46 percent).

Overall, more than four in five drivers (84 percent) agreed that parking is the most stressful part of driving.

The research also shows that British motorists argue with other people about parking three times a month on average.

About a third (34 percent) said their hearts often race when it’s time to park, while a quarter (25 percent) admit they get sweaty.

Norwich, pictured, comes third, with 12 per cent of motorists saying their parking space was ‘appalling’

One in ten people in Brighton, pictured, admitted to being ‘terrible’ parkers, pushing the seaside destination to a solid fourth place

Nearly half (46 percent) of drivers say they hate it when people watching them try to get into a tight spot.

A sixth (17 percent) say they always hit the curb, while another 15 percent struggle to get between rows in a supermarket car park.

To add to stress, three in five (60 percent) have been laughed at by family or friends for poor parking.

But the older you get, the better you get at parking, the research suggests, as the over-60s emerged as the most confident demographic among those surveyed.

Nearly half (49 percent) said they were fairly good parkers, compared to just 39 percent 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 country’s motorists are sensitive to a fair share of parking stress.’