Monday 27th is unluckier than Friday 13th

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The unluckiest day of all is Monday the 27th, say insurers.

In other words, it is today that we should tread with extra care and keep our fingers crossed wherever we go.

Analysis of a million insurance claims has revealed that accidents are more likely to happen on Monday the 27th than on any other day.

Researchers have uncovered a disproportionate series of bizarre mishaps which have occurred on this day in previous years, including

one man who put his foot through a ceiling while fetching Christmas decorations from the loft.

On the same day a forgetful woman flooded her house after leaving the bath taps running, and another's pet cat started a house blaze by knocking over a candle.

Also happening with greater frequency were crashes in car parks, tree branches falling on cars and accidents caused by trying to avoid animals. It is thought that Monday the 27th could hold greater risks than other days because the combination of post-weekend tiredness and the end of the month contributes to increased carelessness.

AA Insurance, which carried out the study, said that this month's stormy weather, longer nights and leaves on the road meant that driving conditions could make today particularly hazardous.

Ian Crowder, at the AA, said his company processed around five per cent more claims on Monday February 27 and Monday March 27 this year than would be expected on an average day.

While today makes three Monday the 27ths this year, it happened only once in 2005, 2002 and 2001, and twice in 2004, 2003 and 2000. According to a survey of 4,000 people carried by Dr Richard Wiseman in 2003, nine out of ten of us are superstitious.

The fear of Friday the 13th, technically known as paraskavedekatriaphobia, is thought to have its origins in the Bible, as it was on a Friday when Eve took a bite from the apple.

The significance of the unlucky number 13 could date back to early Western civilisation, when it was thought to represent devil worship.

Another theory, mentioned in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, is that the Knights Templar were decimated on Friday the 13th.