Millions of motorists are being driven round the bend thanks to a chronic shortage of parking spaces and hefty parking tolls in the UK.

A new study of 2,200 drivers by Privilege Insurance found half of those polled blamed "parking rage" for breaking the law and parking illegally -- with one in ten being fined at least once in the past year.

A third of drivers admitted parking illegally out of sheer frustration, while a quarter of them said they had given up trying to find a space on a day out and headed back home instead.

Ever-increasing car parking charges are another thorn in drivers' tyres, according to the report, with the cost of a two-hour stay in parts of London now soaring over £7 and some motorists having to pay to park close to work or home.

Catherine Alty, business manager for Privilege, says: "The problem is so great that some people are prepared to get fined on a regular basis, and not just because the fine is less expensive than parking costs. It's frustration levels -- parking rage -- that pushes people into not caring that they are parking illegally."

Certainly the mood on the street isn't great, with a fifth of the motorists quizzed saying parking problems will never improve because there are just too many cars on the road - current figures suggest 27.2 million. But is the situation really that bleak?

Brian MacDowall, spokesman for the Association of British Drivers, thinks it is. He claims the Government is actually trying to reduce the number of parking spaces in city centres as part of a plot to force people to use public transport and cut the number of cars on the road.

He says: "It's an escalating problem and it's part of a plot I think. The Government is reducing the amount of parking spaces allowed around new buildings like shopping precincts and offices.

"And it extends to the street as well -- there are more yellow lines and more residents' permits are given out than there are spaces. It's an underhand way to get people to use public transport.

"The crux of the matter is it's almost a complete absence of common sense in town and country planning. It's very ad-hoc -- they build the stuff first and then worry about where people are going to park for work, school and at home, afterwards."