From Davina McCall to Ranulph Fiennes, Britain can claim a rich source of inspiration when it comes to fearlessly facing up to the most daunting of challenges.

Yet if pressed to stand up to the 13 things that most scare the UK public, would you be able to come away saying you could brush off all of them?

A new survey has been released which reveals the things that most scare the British public, from a majority who are at least a little afraid of heights to a significant minority who suffer from cynophobia – a fear of dogs.

Download the new Independent Premium app Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

YouGov presented more than 2,000 people with an unlucky 13 common phobias, asking them to rate their fear of each from “not at all” to “very afraid”.

The survey found that heights are the biggest fear of all for British people, with a massive 58 per cent of respondents saying they suffer from acrophobia or “vertigo” to some degree.

While that’s not necessarily surprising – gravity can be a killer, after all – more than a quarter of the public said they were inexplicably afraid of mice.

Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: Britain's biggest fears Show all 13 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: Britain's biggest fears 1/13 Cynophobia Fear of dogs – 3 per cent said they were very afraid, 11 per cent of respondents said they were a little afraid. Man’s best friend, but can also bite Getty Images 2/13 Hemophobia Fear of blood – 3 per cent very afraid, again 11 per cent a little afraid. Often little more than squeamishness, though harks back to very sound human instinct that people are better off with blood on the inside Getty Images 3/13 Nyctophobia Fear of darkness – 3 per cent very afraid, 12 per cent a little afraid. Probably would have been higher if survey respondents had not been 18 or over Getty Images 4/13 Coulrophobia Fear of clowns – 4 per cent very afraid, 8 per cent a little afraid. Who can blame them, after the incident of the Northampton Clown? Getty Images 5/13 Agoraphobia Fear of crowds – 4 per cent very afraid, 17 per cent a little afraid. Also known as the fear of public spaces, and often linked to anxieties over panic attacks Getty Images 6/13 Pteromerhanophobia Fear of flying on an airplane – 7 per cent very afraid, 17 per cent a little afraid. Though statistically the safest mode of transport, air travel safety concerns are understandably at a high given recent news events Getty Images 7/13 Trypanophobia Fear of needles/getting shots – 8 per cent very afraid, 16 per cent a little afraid. Overall this phobia affects just 19 per cent of those aged 60+, compared to 32 per cent of 18-24-year-olds Getty Images 8/13 Musophobia Fear of mice – 9 per cent very afraid, 17 per cent a little afraid. One of the big phobias showing the apparent fear gender gap – 16 per cent of male respondents said they were afraid of mice to some degree, compared to 34 per cent of women Creative Commons 9/13 Claustrophobia Fear of being closed in a small space – 14 per cent very afraid, 29 per cent a little afraid. Now we’re getting into seriously scary stuff. In total, only a quarter of us are ‘not at all afraid’ of confined spaces Creative Commons 10/13 Arachnophobia Fear of spiders – 18 per cent very afraid, 24 per cent a little afraid. Fair enough, when giant spiders hide in bunches of bananas at supermarkets Getty Images 11/13 Glossophobia Fear of public speaking – 20 per cent very afraid, 36 per cent a little afraid. Into the top three fears, which are experienced by the majority of British people Getty Images 12/13 Ophidiophobia Fear of snakes – 21 per cent very afraid, 31 per cent a little afraid. If you’re not really afraid of snakes, count yourself in the brave minority – some of them can even beat up crocodiles Getty Images 13/13 Acrophobia Fear of heights – 23 per cent very afraid, 35 per cent a little afraid. Also known as vertigo, this is Britain’s greatest fear – and understandably so, given large drops have the potential to kill Rex Features 1/13 Cynophobia Fear of dogs – 3 per cent said they were very afraid, 11 per cent of respondents said they were a little afraid. Man’s best friend, but can also bite Getty Images 2/13 Hemophobia Fear of blood – 3 per cent very afraid, again 11 per cent a little afraid. Often little more than squeamishness, though harks back to very sound human instinct that people are better off with blood on the inside Getty Images 3/13 Nyctophobia Fear of darkness – 3 per cent very afraid, 12 per cent a little afraid. Probably would have been higher if survey respondents had not been 18 or over Getty Images 4/13 Coulrophobia Fear of clowns – 4 per cent very afraid, 8 per cent a little afraid. Who can blame them, after the incident of the Northampton Clown? Getty Images 5/13 Agoraphobia Fear of crowds – 4 per cent very afraid, 17 per cent a little afraid. Also known as the fear of public spaces, and often linked to anxieties over panic attacks Getty Images 6/13 Pteromerhanophobia Fear of flying on an airplane – 7 per cent very afraid, 17 per cent a little afraid. Though statistically the safest mode of transport, air travel safety concerns are understandably at a high given recent news events Getty Images 7/13 Trypanophobia Fear of needles/getting shots – 8 per cent very afraid, 16 per cent a little afraid. Overall this phobia affects just 19 per cent of those aged 60+, compared to 32 per cent of 18-24-year-olds Getty Images 8/13 Musophobia Fear of mice – 9 per cent very afraid, 17 per cent a little afraid. One of the big phobias showing the apparent fear gender gap – 16 per cent of male respondents said they were afraid of mice to some degree, compared to 34 per cent of women Creative Commons 9/13 Claustrophobia Fear of being closed in a small space – 14 per cent very afraid, 29 per cent a little afraid. Now we’re getting into seriously scary stuff. In total, only a quarter of us are ‘not at all afraid’ of confined spaces Creative Commons 10/13 Arachnophobia Fear of spiders – 18 per cent very afraid, 24 per cent a little afraid. Fair enough, when giant spiders hide in bunches of bananas at supermarkets Getty Images 11/13 Glossophobia Fear of public speaking – 20 per cent very afraid, 36 per cent a little afraid. Into the top three fears, which are experienced by the majority of British people Getty Images 12/13 Ophidiophobia Fear of snakes – 21 per cent very afraid, 31 per cent a little afraid. If you’re not really afraid of snakes, count yourself in the brave minority – some of them can even beat up crocodiles Getty Images 13/13 Acrophobia Fear of heights – 23 per cent very afraid, 35 per cent a little afraid. Also known as vertigo, this is Britain’s greatest fear – and understandably so, given large drops have the potential to kill Rex Features

At the lower end of the scale, 12 per cent of respondents suffered from coulrophobia – fear of clowns – and 14 per cent were at least a little afraid of the sight of blood.

“All are not created equal when it comes to fears,” YouGov’s William Jordan said.

“With the exception of needles and getting shots and blood – of which British men and women are about equally afraid – more women than men are afraid of each thing [on the list].”

This gender gap was widest when it came to spiders, which scare the majority of women (52 per cent) but only a third of men.

The survey results were also broken down by age groups, and found that fears varied enormously when comparing 18 to 24-year-olds with those 60 and above.

It found that young people were much more likely to be scared of spiders, needles and public speaking, while older people tend more to fear snakes and heights.

And the results also showed wide discrepancies between the regions of the UK, with people in London and the south consistently more afraid of just about everything when compared to the north and Scotland.

How many of the 13 are you afraid of? Click through the gallery of images above to find out.