by Andy Rose BBC News Online, Yorkshire

People can change character when anger takes a grip

Anger is a completely natural and, some would contend, healthy human emotion - but when things go wrong, it can become a destructive force leading in extreme cases to injury, incarceration and even death.

Latest figures reveal the nation is becoming an angrier place, or at least, the public perceive that to be the case.

Number of calls received this year by BAAM London 841 Manchester 203 Leeds 166 York 153

An ICM survey found that 80% of people believe the UK has become an angrier society in the past decade with 12% admitting they lose their temper at least once a day.

And while cities like London and Manchester appear to have more angry people, according to research from the British Association of Anger Management (BAAM), two Yorkshire cities - Leeds and York - are riding high in the temper table.

Psycho-analyst and BAAM director Mike Fisher said: "We get most of our calls on the usual issues that affect most people - interpersonal issues within families and the workplace

"A lot of people call us because they see us as their last chance to get control of their anger and save their marriage.

"We also get a lot of road rage calls from both victims and perpetrators. Somewhere in the region of 95% of motorists have experienced road rage."

Anger associated health problems Hypertension Depression Digestive problems Heart attack Eczema Respiratory problems

Mr Fisher started BAAM two years ago in Surrey and now has a database of more than 7,000 angry clients.

"What we have noticed is that the number of people contacting us from Leeds has dramatically increased over the last few months," he said.

"It certainly appears to be one of the angriest cities outside of London and is right up there when you compare the size of the populations."

Mr Fisher's figures show men are the angrier sex with women tending to be more passive with their temper.

Leeds has been described on one critical website as "a city of random shouting and violence".

However, a totally unscientific survey of our Leeds office reveals a placid bunch with less than half admitting to losing their temper regularly.

And out on the apparently mean and angst-ridden streets of Leeds it is a similar story.

Leeds folk insist the city is far from angry

Charity worker Gillian Iles, 23, disagreed with the city's angry tag.

She said: "I'm certainly not an angry person and I don't think Leeds is either.

"I'm originally from Devon which is even more laid back but I love it up here.

"The only thing that gets me really angry in general is rude people."

University researcher Emma Harvey, 34, added: "It's not my impression that Leeds is an more angry than any other city in the UK.

"I got angry last night but the things that really annoy me more than anything are prejudice and rudeness."

Visiting Trinidadian businessman David Chann, 31, added an outsider's view and said: "People are much more friendly here than in London."

But anger is not all bad according to Mr Fisher who believes blowing your top can actually be beneficial.

"It can certainly be good for you but it has to be expressed in a healthy way," he added.