Scots are more likely to be pestered by nuisance and unsolicited calls than the rest of the UK, research suggests.

A survey by comparison website Which? shows that Scots are significantly worse off when it comes to calls about PPI and accident claims, as well as silent calls.

A total of 29 per cent of residents in Scotland said they had received 11 or more nuisance calls in the last month, compared to 17 per cent in the rest of the UK.

When it comes to unsolicited calls about energy deals, home improvement and energy efficiency, four in 10 Scots (38 per cent) say they have received such calls, compared to one in five (18 per cent) elsewhere.

A Scottish Government summit will be held in Edinburgh today to discuss the issue and look at ways to tackle nuisance calls.

Keith Brown MSP, cabinet secretary for economy, jobs and fair work, said: "Nuisance calls are simply unacceptable and the Scottish Government takes this issue extremely seriously. We will use our new consumer powers as a catalyst to protect Scots from the blight of these unwelcome calls.

"The summit is a key way to guide our work and brings together experts from regulators, consumer groups and industry who will work together to find practical ways of empowering and protecting consumers, as well as supporting businesses to be models of best practice.

"With some key powers also remaining reserved to Westminster, we will also be considering what more the UK Government could do, and how we best work with them to take concerted action."

The Which? research shows that, overall, eight in ten people in Scotland say they have received nuisance calls on their landline.

This is despite Scots being more likely than those in the rest of the UK to try to block unwanted callers, with 60 per cent of people who received a nuisance call asking to be removed from the database.

Scots are also more aware of the Telephone Preference Service, with more than half of those with a landline confirming they have registered.

The reason why Scotland receives more nuisance calls is unclear, but it is hoped that the summit will help to uncover why Scots in particular are being targeted.

Alex Neill, Which? director of campaigns and policy, said: "Millions of people are still being bombarded with nuisance calls and our latest research tells us that people in Scotland are being targeted far more than the rest of the UK.

"This summit is a major opportunity for businesses, regulators and the Scottish Government to make a difference by jointly committing to take action against this everyday menace."

Which?, whose Stop Nuisance Calls in Scotland campaign has attracted more than 25,000 signatures, is calling on the Scottish Government to take action by putting pressure on Scottish businesses to adopt voluntary changes and make senior executives personally accountable if companies breach the law.

They also want to see more help for vulnerable people to install call blocking technology.

Scottish and Southern Electric will attend the summit and were one of the first major companies to sign up to the Which? campaign.

Lee-Ann Fullerton, head of group media of SSE, said: "We hung up on cold calling in 2013 because customers told us they wanted to talk to us on their own terms, not be interrupted at all times of the day by companies they’d had no previous relationship with.

"SSE was the first major company to get behind Which?’s campaign to end nuisance calling and we’re delighted to be taking part in this Scottish summit to continue to tackle the issue and help empower and protect customers."