British men are seen as more polite than women

British men are more polite than women, a study has found.

But the surprising reason for men being better-mannered is largely due to them using words like 'mate' more.

This casual greeting expresses 'solidarity', and makes people feel approved of, according to the linguistic analysis, which makes it polite.

Northerners, however, may have to concede that they are no more polite than people living in the south, based on the findings.

Instead, it is people who live and were born in rural areas who are more polite than those in and from urban areas and cities, researchers found.