London, Aug 24 (IANS) Britons, who have always prided themselves on being well mannered, are no longer so, a survey showed.

Two-thirds of the respondents, in the survey carried out among 3,000 people, believe that Britain is a rude country and Britons are just as likely to utter an offhand "Cheers" than say a formal "Thank You".

Daily Express Tuesday reported that despite the dip in good manners, 84 percent complained that Britons don’t know how to show appreciation.

Four in 10 said they don’t write "Thank You" letters to relatives for Christmas or birthday presents while a significant 77 percent of the respondents believe that even saying "Thank You" is not important as some other kind of "nice gesture" was good enough.

Almost 50 percent said they were more likely to say "Cheers" rather than "Thank You".

The research was carried out by OnePoll.com for Me To You toy range.

"Society seems increasingly scared of expressing good, honest, truthful words. We would rather follow politicians and hide behind language instead of saying what we really think," Marie Clair, of the Plain English Campaign, was quoted as saying.