REVEALED: The f ive cities with Britain’s tightest tippers

IT’S an awkward moment at the end of any restaurant meal – the bill has been paid and you’re wondering how much to leave as a tip.

But in some cities, diners have few qualms about walking out having left no gratuity at all, a new survey reveals.

People in Sheffield emerged as the most reluctant tippers in the UK, with only 72 per cent saying they were likely to leave something for the staff after a meal.

Those who would tip suggested an average of only £1.94 for a £30 meal – about six per cent, compared with the recommended amount of between ten and 15 per cent.

However, even the most generous tip – from diners in Belfast – was just £2.71, which is still a relatively measly nine per cent.

Glaswegians were found to be the most likely tippers, averaging £2.43 for a £ 30 meal, according to the study by travel experts Big Domain.

Top restaurateur and TV chef Raymond Blanc said he wasn’t surprised to find a regional variation but that he did sympathise with customers.

‘It can be difficult for people who are trying to work out the right amount to leave for staff,’ he said.

He has recently introduced a discretionary service charge at his hotel and restaurant, Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire, which has two Michelin stars.

‘We talked to the customers and the staff and we decided that it was the best way,’ he said.

‘It means everyone knows where t hey s t and and we gi ve every penny of that money to the staff because they have a tough job and deserve it.’

Other cities featuring in the lessl i kel y- t o- t i p t abl e were Leeds, Plymouth, Newcastle and Norwich, while diners in Belfast, Edinburgh, London and Bristol were the most likely to leave some money. Interestingly, the study found that younger Britons were more inclined to leave a tip, perhaps because they identified more with waiting staff, with those aged between 16 and 24 tipping an average of between 16 and 20 per cent on meals.

The most tight-fisted diners were those over the age of 55, among whom nearly one in five admitted that they never left tips.

The survey also found that more than half of people who didn’t tip had a good reason for their decision – rude waiting staff, with cold or poor-quality food, mistakes on the order and delays also cited.

A separate survey a few years ago found that Germans and Americans were more likely to leave a tip than people from Russia, Brazil, France, Britain, Spain and Italy.