British women 'wear highest heels in Europe'

British women wear the highest talons in Europe, closely followed by Spain and Denmark, a new survey has revealed.

Foot care brand Compeed released the findings, which show the average heel height in the UK is 3.3 inches (about 8.4cm), compared to 3.2 inches (8.1cm) in Spain and 3 (7.6cm) in Denmark.

Rounding out the top 5 are Germany and France. In the former 2.7 inches (6.9cm) is the average heel height, while this is 2.4 inches (6.1cm) in France.

Averages within the UK are at their highest in the North-east region, reaching 3.46 inches (8.8cm), while the average in the capital London is 3.37 inches (8.6cm).

These averages aren't actually that high considering some of the most popular designer heels from the likes of Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik come in at 5 inches (12.7cm) or more and British celebrities such as Victoria Beckham can often be seen in towering talons of 9 inches (22.9cm).

Last year technology corporation IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) predicted that 2012 would see a rise in flat shoes after its analysis of online buzz related to heels over the past four years.

According to its report released in November, enthusiastic discussions about high heels peaked at the end of 2009, while last year social media was dominated by comments praising practical footwear.