Brits spend more than 16 hours a year - waiting for late mates to arrive at social events, according to recent research.

Three quarters of Brits have a friend who is 'always' late with a fifth having to wait an hour or more beyond their agreed meeting time for their friend to turn up, typically chasing them up after 19 minutes to get an estimated time of arrival.

Despite summer being the prime season for catch-ups, it also means more idle time as people wait for mates.

To pass the time, 40 percent resort to their mobiles, scrolling through social media, catching up on the latest news, or checking emails.

Consequently, nearly half confess to draining their phone batteries while they were waiting.

To provide waiting Brits with a comfy place to hole up and recharge, Vodafone has installed gigantic 'Wait for a Mate' stations across the nation.

Broadcaster, Roman Kemp, gave the station a whirl in central London.

"With my mates, I'm definitely the early bird," he said. "I find I can use the time to catch up on a bit of life admin - aka check the football scores."

The most common text sent by 35 percent of those on standby is 'where are you?', while 17 percent opt for the cheery "Can't wait to see you!". Meanwhile, 16 percent take a more direct approach with a brisk "hurry up".

While waiting for their friend, two thirds of people seek out a comfortable place to sit and 10 percent look for a spot to charge their phone.

However, late friends aren't always the culprits as 28 percent admitted they intentionally arrive early – with 57 percent doing so to ensure they locate the meeting spot on time and 12 per cent simply too eager to see their mates.

According to the OnePoll survey, one in 10 even utilise the opportunity of arriving early to sort out their life admin tasks such as paying bills or responding to emails.