Chelsea footballer Ashley Cole has been voted the UK's most hated celebrity in the week after his drunk and disorderly arrest.

The England defender, married to Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole, scored 15 per cent of votes in a onepoll.com survey to find the least popular celebrities in Britain.

Cole has earned the ire of rival fans over his refusal to sign a contract worth £53,000 a week with former club Arsenal and last year was found to have cheated on his pop singer wife with a blonde hairdresser.

The full-back continued to upset the British public when he turned his back on referee Mike Riley as the official tried to give him a yellow card for a high tackle in a game last season and has sealed his place as Britain's least-loved celebrity after being arrested for being drunk and disorderly at a charity function this week

A spokesman for www.OnePoll.com, which polled 4,000 adults, said: "Ashley has obviously managed to annoy quite a lot of people.

"Female fans of Girls Aloud are very loyal to Cheryl and his move to Chelsea didn't go down well with Arsenal fans.

"People see Ashley Cole as leading a very privileged life, so the fact that he can't keep his nose clean and stay out of trouble makes people see red. The man has everything anyone could wish for."

Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson, controversial TV host Jonathan Ross, Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo and Sir Paul McCartney's ex-wife Heather Mills were also named in the top five.

The most hated celebrities in Britain are:

1 Ashley Cole - 15 per cent
2 Jeremy Clarkson - 9 per cent
3 Jonathan Ross - 8 per cent
4 Cristiano Ronaldo - 7 per cent
5 Heather Mills - 7 per cent
6 Wayne Rooney - 6 per cent
7 Peter Mandelson - 6 per cent
8 Frank Lampard - 6 per cent
9 Gordon Brown - 5 per cent
10 Lord Fred Goodwin - 5 per cent
11 Gordon Ramsay - 5 per cent
12 Kerry Katona - 4 per cent
13 Russell Brand - 4 per cent
14 Dwayne Chambers - 3 per cent
15 Trinny and Susannah - 3 per cent
16 John Mccririck - 3 per cent
17 Steve Mcclaren - 2 per cent
17 David Van Day - 1 per cent
19 Chris Moyles - 0.5 per cent
20 Hugh Grant - 0.5 per cent


10/03/2009 15:37:02