The success of crime shows including Sherlock has created a nation of amateur sleuths, according to a survey.

The modern-day recreation of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, starring Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role, and other shows including Broadchurch and The Killing have been huge critical and commercial hits, pulling in massive audiences and breeding a generation of armchair detectives.

Almost two-thirds (64%) of adults said they thought watching detective dramas had made them experts in criminology with a fifth saying they thought they could get away with committing crime without being caught because of what they had learned.

The survey of 1500 adults, commissioned by TV channel Really to mark the launch of real-life crime series Cold Justice, also revealed many people believed a succession of myths about crime including the importance of DNA and criminal profiling.