Slow download times cause some PC users to spin over the edge

Slow download times are more annoying than noisy neighbours, watching their football team lose or being stuck in a queue, Scottish Enterprise found.

The jobs quango said computer problems are driving Scots to distraction.

It asked 1,000 people in Scotland to detail their pet hates and what drove them mad in their everyday lives.

Of those surveyed, 45% blamed sluggish internet connections for their patience wearing thin.

This was significantly more than the 20% who said watching their favourite football team suffering defeat made them see red.

We say don't get mad, get broadband Charlie Watt Scottish Enterprise

Sixteen percent of those surveyed said noisy neighbours provoked their ire, while 26% blamed getting stuck in a queue.

Dr Shona Falconer, a psychologist at Dundee University, said: "Feelings of stress and frustration arise when the gap between our expectations and actual experience on the internet is ever widening."

One in 10 surfers confessed they sometimes felt like punching their keyboard, whacking the monitor with a hammer and even throwing their PCs out of the window.

A third of those questioned said they had to walk away to cool down, while 3% said they sometimes felt the urge to scream.

Scottish Enterprise said the only cure for internet rage is a broadband connection.

Spokesman Charlie Watt said: "The survey shows people are becoming incensed by lousy connections.