London, Sep 4 (IANS): British women have been named the world's ugliest tourists, "rude" in behaviour and "ending up drunk in the gutter".

Women from the country are known across the world for their bad behaviour, poor dress sense and drinking habits when on holiday, the Daily Express reported Saturday.

They "shamelessly break wind" and belch while lying around hotel pools or on beaches, a survey by holiday website Real Holiday Reports said.

Tourists were asked the question "Which country has the ugliest women?", answers to which put Britons well ahead of the rest.

They topped the poll with 22.4 percent, with the next being American women on 16.7 percent. They were followed by ­Germans, east Europeans, Spaniards and Turks.

British women were called "fat" and "covered in bad tattoos". They wore "hideous outfits", including "too-tight ­bikinis".

Gary Hewitt, whose agency conducted the survey, said he was not shocked by the findings.

"British women have had a pretty bad reputation for quite a number of years. They are increasingly seen to behave more like British men and end up ­drinking as much as their blokes and letting it all hang out. It's not a good reputation that we have, and if we want to improve our image we need to sharpen up a bit," he said.