Britons and Germans 'rudest tourists'

Brits abroad are not popular with many hotel and catering workers

British holidaymakers have come a very close second to the Germans in a survey to find the rudest nation of tourists.

As many as 22% of overseas hotel and catering staff thought the British were the rudest customers they had encountered, according to the survey by Caterer and Hotelkeeper magazine.

Only the Germans came out worse, with 23% of 1,000 staff interviewed finding them the least bearable.

Many British tourists were described as "drunken, yobbish, and spitting", with frequent displays of "arrogance" and "ignorance" when on holiday abroad.

This just goes to show that we Brits have a thing or two to learn when it comes to table manners Forbes Mutch, editor, Caterer and Hotelkeeper

It was even alleged that Britons had a habit of demanding compensation for meals they had already eaten but claimed to not enjoy.

Some accused the Brits of insulting staff and spitting at them, while one waiter claimed to have been threatened with a gun by an unhappy customer.

The magazine's editor, Forbes Mutch, said: "I think these survey results will come as a surprise to many people. This just goes to show that we Brits have a thing or two to learn when it comes to table manners."

The survey also carried the claim that Germans always found something to complain about no matter how high the standard of service.

One hotelier working in the Caribbean reported a German customer taking service staff to task for refusing to massage suntan oil into her back.

After the Germans and the British, the Americans and French were considered the next rudest nations, each with 18% of the votes, followed by the Italians with 17%.