LONDONERS are more polite than Yorkshire people – but both are rude when it comes to talking on mobile phones, a new study revealed.

The capital nearly tops the league when it comes to basic good manners – with only people from the North East saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ more often.

Only 19 per cent of those interviewed in London forgot to say please and thank you, compared with 26 per cent in Yorkshire.

Only ten per cent of the North East ever neglected the courtesy, regarded as the most basic measure of politeness, the researchers said.

But London’s downfall in the good manners’ stakes is mobile phones, with 30 per cent admitting to taking calls from other people while out with friends.

Twenty-two per cent also carried on phone conversations while buying things in shops – an act of rudeness only equalled by people in Yorkshire.

The study has underlined that while Britain might be regarded as the home of good manners, both adults and children alike are in need of some reminders on etiquette. Nationally, close to one in five of us push in front of others in queues.

The research was carried out for the older people’s charity Saga by interviewing more than 1,160 adults and more than 500 children aged five to 16 in April.