Road rage reports to police in Suffolk rose by nearly 50 per cent between last year and 2013, according to constabulary figures.

A survey released by a comparison website shows 15 police forces around the country recorded a 59pc increase in incidents involving angry motorists, cyclists or pedestrians in the last two years.

The hike was revealed as former Ipswich Town manager Roy Keane awaits a court appearance at Trafford Magistrates' Court on March 31 in connection with an alleged row with a Manchester taxi driver in January.

In Suffolk, police have said there were 23 reports of road rage in 2012, 19 in 2013 and 28 last year.

According to the research carried out on behalf of comparison site Confused.com more than a third of motorists (37pc) nationally claim they have been involved in an incident of road rage.

Nearly a fifth (19pc) said it had led to a physical altercation with another road user.

More than one in seven (15pc) who have experienced road rage told researchers they have been involved in 10 incidents or more.

A request under the Freedom of Information Act, answered by around a third of UK police forces including Suffolk, showed between 2012 and 2014 they recorded a total of 1,331 incidents of road rage.

Among the other constabularies which released information were Norfolk, Thames Valley, Cambridge and Hertfordshire.

According to the survey, carried out by One Poll, the most common situations which cause motorists to lose their temper are people driving unnecessarily close to them and being cut up on the road.

Drivers also get particularly annoyed when another person tailgates them and when road users turn without indicating.

The information was extracted from an online poll of 2,000 UK drivers which was conducted between February 24 and February 25.