More than 20% of cars in Britain fail their first MOT test - the British equivalent of the National Car Test (NCT). The result gives Britain one of the worst records in Europe, the Irish Times reports.

In 2007, a total of 21.6% of three-year-old vehicles in Britain did not pass the MOT, according to figures obtained by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) Trust revealed. The trust said this compared unfavourably with many European countries - some of which test cars for the first time after four years rather than the British minimum of three years.

In Ireland the failure rate so far this year for cars undergoing their first NCT is 24%, falling to just 4% after a retest. The British figures said lighting and signalling problems were the chief cause of failures, followed by tyre and wheel problems.

Irish Times