IT'S official...women are worse drivers than men! But before all your furious letters start flooding in girls, it's not us at the Star saying that - but the nation's chief driving examiner, Robin Cummins.

And not surprisingly when The Star went out on the streets to find out what our readers thought of his findings, our probe unearthed some passionate responses, which did not always strictly stick to the gender divide.

Bravely, Amanda Howard, of Sutton, suggested: "I hate to say it but I agree with him. I think women are rubbish drivers! I'm a terrible driver. I've been driving for 25 years and I still haven't learnt how to park."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, many of the men we interviewed wholeheartedly agreed with Mr Cummins' viewpoint.

Pensioner Reg Milne, of Sutton Manor, said: "The chief examiner is quite right because women go slow when they should be putting their foot down. Women generally make useless drivers."

Steve Clark, from Eccleston, agreed and was particularly damning about his partner Cheryl's driving. He said: "It's a good job the roads have kerbs otherwise she would crash into all sorts of things!"

This road war of the genders resurfaced last week when the man who oversees the testing of 1.5m learner drivers a year revealed that women take more time to pass their driving test and concluded that men generally possess more natural driving ability.

Mr Cummins also claimed that women are 40 per cent more likely to fail their test when reversing or attempting a three-point turn.

However, many local women think his comments reflect an outdated prejudice.

Amanda Howard added: "I think men are more impatient and more inclined towards road rage because they're always beeping at you. They're more aggressive drivers than women."

Clare Mellan, from St Helens, agreed: "I think women are better drivers because they're more careful. Most young lads are just boy racers and I'm much more careful than any of the men in my family!"

But for precisely that reason Mike Cross, a young Saints fan who now lives in Wigan, believes men hold the upper hand in the driving stakes. He said: "Women are too careful, just like all the older people. Women go too slow and have no consideration for other drivers."

Winifred Smee, of Clinkham Wood, agreed with him because: "A woman has just hit me this afternoon! Before I would have said that women are more cautious than men, but not any more."

Closer to home, some of our female Star advertising team are pretty hot under the blouse about this too as they question Mr Cummins' method of assessment. Wendy Dootson emphasised that safe driving over a number of years would be a more accurate indicator of driving ability. She said: "It's safety that's the key issue, not how long it takes you to pass your test. If he is basing his argument on that then it's not representative of the wider picture."

Mary Storey added: "I think women are generally more courteous, considerate and responsible drivers. Although women might be involved in more minor accidents, it tends to be men involved in the serious ones, possibly because men are more inclined to drink drive."

Though even Mary has to admit that she can think of a female chum who still has to work out the finer details of her car's dashboard.