Failure to flush ranks as the greatest affront to good toilet etiquette

SOMETIMES men can be a right shower – especially when it comes to keeping clean.

A survey yesterday showed that nearly a quarter of men admit to relieving themselves in the shower.

It also revealed that one-third of Britons spend around 109.5 hours on the toilet each year the same amount of time it takes to watch 12 football matches.

All the men questioned said that the worst thing about their toilet was always having to clean it, although half of women (53%) claimed they were the ones left to do the dirty work.

Three-quarters of men also claimed they always put the toilet seat down, but eight out of 10 women said the men in their household still leave it up.

The ultimate toilet fantasy was a "self-cleaning mechanism", which proved popular with 61% of those questioned.

When it came to type of toilet seat, women preferred pine (35%), with traditional enamel a close second with 33%.

But men opted for a more contemporary look, with 47% choosing brushed chrome and 6% opting for velvet.

The biggest toilet crime among those taking part in the survey was not remembering to flush, voted worst by 68%.

Some of the unusual places people admitted to going to the toilet were off the edge of the Eiffel Tower, in a flower bed outside the Houses of Parliament and in a monkey enclosure.

The survey was carried out by toilet makers B&Q.

David Roth, its director of marketing, said: "We sell a lot of toilets and toilet seats and this research shows that although men still opt for traditional toilets they aren't so afraid to experiment when it comes to the great outdoors."

Between 150 and 200 people filled in questionnaires at B&Q stores around Britain.