Specialist website, Vansunited.co.uk say females make up a third of the 3.2m entrepreneurs in the UK and over a third of van owners are now women.

The new breed - labelled "vantrepreneurs" - signifys a considerable shift in the number of women using commercial vehicles.

In the South West 15 per cent of van purchases are made by women compared to 14 per cent i n London, the next highest. The lowest number of female van buyers is found in the north east where the figure falls to 4 per cent.

Across the UK younger females - 25 to 35 years old - were found to be more forthright than their older peers.

Fifty-three per cent of vantrepreneurs' are self-employed, compared with 44 per cent of their male counterparts.

Delivery is one of the top five professional uses of vans for both men and women.

The statistics highlight florists, gardeners, beauticians and hairdressers and dog groomers at the top of the list of professions in this sector.

Katie Armitage, marketing manager of Vansunuted.co.uk said: "We've noted an increase of female users on the website. Women are having a bigger impact on the van-driving small businesses community and it's now impossible to ignore the fact that van-girl power' is hitting the highways at quite a speed."