Parking prang costs top £1.5bn

British motorists are forking out a staggering £1.5bn each year for car park prangs.

A study revealed 11%, or 3.74 million, of drivers have seriously damaged their own car while looking for a space to park over the past 12 months.

On average they have been left with a whopping £396 repair bill to fix their mishap.

The research by ŠKODA UK revealed 40% of drivers have hit a lamppost, tree or space divider in a car park.

Four in 10 of the 2,000 UK motorists polled also admitted they had accidentally hit another car with their door when they were getting out of their vehicle.

And over the past year the average driver has heard the painful sound of their wheels scraping against a kerb on two occasions – causing irritating scuffs and scratches on their alloys.

A spokesperson for ŠKODA, said: “While many people feel confident in their parking capabilities the numbers show motorists have forked out significant sums in the last 12 months repairing their cars from parking mishaps.”