This is how many times Brits break the law without realising it

Save Henry the Hoover for another day...

It turns out we’re a right bunch of lawbreakers here in the UK. A recent study has revealed that nearly half of Brits have committed a criminal offence - without even realising it.

According to research by BT TV, the average Brit commits as many 32 offences a year though for the most part, these are the under the radar crimes that you might not even realise were illegal to begin with. They surveyed two thousand Brits about their relationship with the law and a third of people have revealed they have been caught red-handed doing something illegal, with more than one in ten (13%) saying they didn’t know they were committing a crime.

The crime people were most likely to commit was singing happy birthday in a restaurant (48%), following closely by drinking alcohol before they were 18 (47%). The top ten laws that Brits don’t realise that they have broken are listed below.

Most common laws broken in the UK

1. Sang Happy Birthday in a restaurant (48 per cent)

2. Drank alcohol under the age of 18 (47 per cent)

3. Sworn or gestured to other road users (40 per cent)

4. Eaten or drank whilst driving (39 per cent)

5. Vacuumed between the hours of 6pm and 8am on a weekday or 1pm and 8am on a Saturday or Sunday (36 per cent)

6. Parked partly on a pavement (34 per cent)

7. Cycled on pavements (33 per cent)

8. Speeding whilst driving (32 per cent)

9. Beeped a horn for any reason other than alerting traffic (31 per cent)

10. Been drunk on the street, or in a pub or restaurant (30 per cent)

Despite accidentally breaking the law a few times, most Brits (98%) see themselves as law-abiding citizens and also said that seeing other people break the law really ticks them off (60%). However, only a tenth of people said they would do their citizen duty and call lawbreakers out on their actions.

So before you spring into a rendition of happy birthday at Nando’s, check to make sure there’s no snitches around. Because you know, you may be breaking the law...