A new poll has found that Lincoln, Shrewsbury and Taunton are the most likely places in the country for drivers to have a car crash involving a tree.

The survey from elephant.co.uk found that by contrast, Durham, Blackpool and Halifax had the greatest risk of colliding with a lamp post and Halifax again scored highly in the places where you are most likely to hit a wall.

Places in Scotland saw the greatest risk of hitting an animal, with Inverness particularly high, followed by Perth, Dumfries, Orkney and Aberdeen.

Elephant.co.uk managing director Brian Martin said: "Of course, any car accident is distressing, whether you hit another vehicle, an animal or an inanimate object, but we were interested in seeing if there were any trends. Not surprisingly, Scots were the most likely to hit an animal, as you would expect to find more wild and farm animals in more rural areas.

"However, it was unclear why we would see more collisions with lamp posts, trees and walls in the other areas. It's difficult to see why these towns in particular would top the list for these types of accidents."