Who are the UK’s friendliest workers?

Train and bus drivers are the unfriendliest workers in UK, according to a poll. Postmen are considered to be the friendliest with 36 per cent of the vote, followed by pub landlords at 33 per cent and tradesmen at 29 per cent.

About 84 per cent of Britons feel we should be more friendly to one another, but more than half would ignore a stranger in a pub rather than start a conversation, Guinness research found.

And while 20 per cent of people were happy to hug their friends, a quarter of the men questioned said they would be too uncomfortable to embrace another man. Traditional views of the North-South divide continue, as 43 per cent of respondents said residents were more approachable in northern England. Two-thirds said London and the southeast were the least friendly areas.

But simply smiling at someone was considered to be the best way to be welcoming, according to more than half of the 2,000 people questioned.

The X Factor’s sharp-tongued Simon Cowell topped the list of unfriendliest celebrities, with model Naomi Campbell – famous for her diva-like behaviour – and gruff businessman Lord Sugar completing the top three.