Over a quarter of drivers admit to not always locking their car, research from Yorkshire Bank has revealed.

In a survey of 1500 UK drivers carried out on behalf of Yorkshire Bank, men were found to be less security conscious than women, with 45% forgetting security measures such as locking their car at a petrol station.

The survey also revealed that text messaging at the wheel, arguing with passengers and staring at the opposite sex were common causes of near misses while driving.

Geoff Greer, the head of Yorkshire Bank, said he was keen to study drivers' behaviour before developing the bank's new car insurance quote finder service.

He said: "Unfortunately, drivers are facing increasing premiums but our research shows they aren't doing themselves any favours.

"They need to take better care of their property to be sure that when something happens, their insurance will cover them."

There are 340,000 UK car thefts each year.