West Dunbartonshire has one of the highest percentages of disqualified drivers in the UK.

According to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the area has the 6th highest proportion of banned motorists in Britain, as well as the 4th highest in Scotland, with 2.79 per cent of its drivers outlawed from getting behind the wheel.

Local driving instructor Jim Crichton, who operates High Road Driving Tuition in Dumbarton, said, however, that drivers in the area don’t deserve such a bad rep.

He told the Reporter: “It does surprise me a bit. I wouldn’t have thought the area was any different from anywhere else. You come across it (bad driving) anywhere you go, it’s not necessarily this area, that’s life.

“When you are driving the training car people do tend to give you wide berth and rarely give you any hassle.”

Areas in Scotland which had a higher proportion of disqualified drivers was Orkney (10.25 per cent), Inverclyde (5.35 per cent), Torfaen (4.79 per cent), Gwent (3.34 per cent) and East Renfrewshire (3.20 per cent).

Other Scottish regions in the top 20 were Dundee (2.69 per cent) and South Ayrshire (1.65 per cent).

Neil Greig, director of policy and research spokesman for UK road safety charity I AM RoadSmart, said: “It is worrying that so many rural areas seem to have high numbers of people willing to break the law.

“This means that not only do road users have to look out for all the usual country road problems and the cold weather but also anticipate the actions of those around them.

“The message is clear, if you live in one of the areas highlighted then you will need all your observation skills to be as safe as possible on every trip.”

Rankings were calculated using the percentage of disqualified drivers in each region versus the number who had successfully passed their test.

Data was obtained through a Freedom of Information request.