If you have suffered foot problems from wearing a gorgeous pair of heels, you're certainly in good company - most women said their high heels start to hurt after 1hr 6min, while 20 per cent said that they can feel the pain after just 10 minutes.

In a new British survey of 2,000 men and women, and 60 podiatrists, conducted by The College of Podiatry, about half of the women said that they suffered foot problems after wearing uncomfortable shoes.

More than 40 per cent of women said that they will suffer for the sake of fashion, while only 12 per cent of men said that they would do the same.

When the pain gets too much, one in four women said they had resorted to dancing barefoot in a club or bar, while a third of them had walked home barefoot due to throbbing feet.

The younger the woman, the higher the heels, with 20 per cent of women aged 18-24 owning a pair of six-inch high-heeled shoes, compared to 10 per cent of those aged 25-42.

Perhaps it is no surprise, but women were found to have more foot ailments than men, with 90 per cent saying they had experienced problems, ranging from blisters to muscular problems.

"Feet are one of the hardest-working parts of the body, and in a lifetime you will walk in excess of 150,000 miles," said Ms Lorraine Jones, a podiatrist from The College of Podiatry.

"As a result of general wear and tear, most of us will suffer some sort of foot complaint at some point in our lives, but we are seeing a lot of cases that could have been prevented - particularly among women."

She said: "We all like to look good, but it's important to take a common-sense approach to footwear."