Many women fear driving abroad, with nearly half saying they will never attempt it, according to a survey.

UK women are far more worried than men about getting behind the wheel overseas, with 73% never having done so and 47% ruling it out for ever, the poll from TravelSupermarket found.

Of the women who had driven abroad, 17% said it was more difficult than driving in the UK, compared with 9% of men. The survey of 2,002 adults also found that men were far more likely to cause damage to hire cars abroad or fall foul of foreign driving rules.

Men were also keener than women to recommend continental driving to others and to pick racy cars to drive overseas.

Bob Atkinson, of TravelSupermarket, said: "Hiring a car is already a massively popular method of getting around when you're on holiday."