Paul Hollywood, ice-cream-vans, the theme tune to Coronation Street and pizza delivery men have emerged among a list of common phobias – for the nation’s pets.

According to a new poll of British pet owners - nearly half (48 percent) of dogs and cats in the UK suffer from some sort of fear or anxiety - with more than one in four claiming their pet is terrified of the vacuum cleaner.

Over one in five (22 percent) said their pet refuses to be left alone in the house and one in ten saying they will not venture into the outside if it is raining.

Spiders, babies and even feather dusters are also the nemesis of the UK’s furry friends.

The extent of anguish felt by the nation’s cats and dogs was revealed in the study of 1,000 pet owners – with dogs emerging as the most likely pet to be afraid.

Forty-one percent of respondents said their pet’s fears were so bizarre they had become a talking point among their family and friends.

The most common reaction to a fear is to bark (33 percent), but a timid 29 percent of animals go and hide.

Tin foil was also listed as a genuine anxiety for many of our four-legged friends, as was the vet, being kept on a lead and the stairs.

The poll by Ceva, Animal Health found 14 percent of animals tend to howl when they have an irrational fear, but for an unfortunate 30 percent of owners, their dog or cat will poo or pee on the carpet.

Over a third of the animal-owners surveyed, said they were genuinely worried about their pet’s behaviour and 22 percent said it was causing stress within the household.

In fact, the average cat or dog owner said their life was affected by their pet’s behaviour as many as three times a week.

According to the research the best way to deal with their pet’s episodes is to try and calm them down by stroking them and 19 per cent will remove them from the situation.

A spokesman for Ceva said: “Some of the fears dogs and cats suffer from are fairly common – such as the stairs, the postman and being left alone.

“However, there is no valid explanation as to why the nation’s pets would take such a dislike to certain celebrities, theme tunes or TV programmes.

Andrew Fullerton, Technical Manager for Behaviour at Ceva Animal Health, said: “These results are really interesting and show a level of education is still needed in assessing, interpreting and understanding our pet’s behaviour and looking at solutions and products such as pheromone based sprays, diffusers and collars, that can help handle stressful situations and prevent unwanted behaviour.”

According to the study, 46 percent of pet owners said their animal had ruined their home with the carpet (49 percent), the sofa (43 percent) and wallpaper (23 percent) the most likely victims of a badly-behaved pet.

One in twenty said their pet has set them back over £1,000 as a result of the damage they have caused in the house.

TOP PHOBIAS OF THE NATION’S PETS

• Vacuum cleaners ​​​42 percent
• Fireworks ​​​​37 percent
• Thunder ​​​​28 percent
• The vets ​​​​24 percent
• Being left on their own ​​​22 percent
• The postman ​​​​14 percent
• Mail coming through the letterbox ​12 percent
• The car ​​​​​12 percent
• Sleeping by themselves ​​​11 percent
• Rain ​​​​​9 percent
• Babies/children ​​​7 percent
• Pizza delivery man ​​​7 percent
• Being on a lead ​​​​5 percent
• Tin foil ​​​​​5 percent
• Buses ​​​​​4 percent
• Spiders ​​​​​3 percent
• The stairs ​​​​3 percent
• Hats ​​​​​3 percent
• Feather dusters ​​​3 percent
• Ice-cream vans ​​​​2 percent
• The garden ​​​​2 percent
• Coronation Street theme tune ​​2 percent
• Paul Hollywood ​​​2 percent
• Grass ​​​​​2 percent