The average bunch of flowers has flown 33,800 miles to reach the UK, recent government figures have revealed.

A report in The Daily Telegraph suggests that in the past three years, the amount of flowers imported from the Netherlands has dropped 47 per cent to 94,000 tonnes. By contrast imports from Africa have risen 39 per cent to 17,000 tonnes.

The figures have prompted environmentalists to voice their concerns about the impact of CO2 emissions associated with the air freight of flowers.

Andrew Sims, the policy director of the New Economics Foundation, told The Daily Telegraph: "There are plenty of flowers that grow in Britain in the winter and don't need to be hothoused."

And Vicky Hird, of Friends of the Earth, added: "We don't want to be killjoys because receiving flowers can be lovely but why not grow your own gift?"

C02 emissions have been under increasing scrutiny over the past 12 months with campaigns such as Farmers Weekly's Local Food is Miles Better initiative encouraging consumers and supermarkets to buy more local food to cut down on greenhouse gas pollution associated with transport.

'Flower Miles' are the latest expression of a growing consumer concern over how far perishable goods are being transported to the UK, in particular, out of season.