UK consumers from the north of England and Scotland are most likely to be prone to 'web rage' when shopping online.

This is according to a regional study carried out by web testing company SciVisum, which looked at online shopping habits.

While some frustration is experienced by all Brits who shop online, the research found that people in the North East and Scotland are the least tolerant of poor website performance.

Almost a quarter in these regions declared they would never return to their favourite site again if performance was bad, versus an average of six per cent elsewhere acording to the study of 1000 people carried out in April this year.

Over three-quarters of online shoppers all over the UK, however, are growing increasingly intolerant. The main gripes are website crashes and the lack of telephone support.

Rather than continue to face these problems, they will either turn their back on a favourite company for a competitor or threaten to return to the high street. One in three would refuse to give even their favourite website more than a second chance.

Other major irritations for online shoppers include complicated registration processes which accounted for nearly half (47 per cent) of complaints, closely followed by the inability to find information (46 per cent) and amend orders (45 per cent).

Although Northerners were found to be most prone to web rage they also tend to be the biggest online spenders; shoppers in the North West are the most willing to buy houses online.

The Scots apparently buy the most extraordinary items - with admitted purchases from respondents including buying an absinthe-making kit, a fat suit and an ant farm .

Conversely, while the most forgiving consumers live in the South, they also spent the least online.

They also tend to be the most conservative shoppers, with those in the South West going for practical goodies such as hubcaps and those in the South East having a penchant for luxury items such as vintage champagne and silk pyjamas.