Drivers in East Anglia and the North West are among the most likely to be involved in a tyre-related car accident according to TyreSafe.

Nearly one-in-four drivers in these regions have never checked the depth of their tyre tread.

Drivers in Wales were the most responsible with more than four-in-ten claiming to have checked their tyre tread depth within the last month, the maximum period recommended between checks, closely followed by drivers in Scotland where nearly four-in-ten drivers performed the checks.

"Although drivers in East Anglia and the North West showed the greatest levels of neglect with regard to tyre safety, our survey revealed a shocking number of drivers right across the country are failing to take adequate steps which could stop them from being involved in a car accident," said Stuart Jackson, chairman, TyreSafe.

"Stopping distances in the wet are significantly increased if tyres do not have sufficient tread depth.

"Without regularly checking tread depth, the only time these drivers realise they are lacking grip may be as they are skidding out of control towards another vehicle."

In addition to being more likely to be involved in an accident, drivers with illegal tread depth face fines of up to £2500 and three penalty points per tyre.

Current UK law states that tyres must have a minimum of depth 1.6mm of tread across the central three quarters of the tread, around its entire circumference.

TyreSafe's research also found that of those drivers who do check their tread depth, many were simply using guesswork to see if they were safe and legal.

More than one in five drivers stated that they just looked at tyres generally rather than using a tread depth gauge, taking the car to a garage or tyre dealer, or any other recommended method.