With people looking for more environmentally friendly ways to maintain their gardens, hand mowers are increasing in popularity and can produce better results than electric or petrol powered rivals, says a new report from Which? Gardening.

The consumer watchdog weighed up the pros and cons of hand mowers and fuel powered mowers and found that the more traditional method of lawn mowing can be kinder to grass, as well as to the environment.

Hand powered mowers make less noise and cost practically nothing to run - just what they cost to maintain.

They may involve slightly more physical effort from the gardener, but many models are lighter than a fuel powered mower, and just as quick.

Which? Gardening rated the Husqvarna Novocut hand mower as the 'Best Buy' model for medium-sized lawns, while the Brill Razorcut Premium was awarded the 'Best Buy' for small lawns.

Ceri Thomas, editor, Which? Gardening, said: "People seem to be keen to return to more traditional methods of gardening - not only are hand mowers better for the environment, they're kinder to your lawn, too.

"If you need any more reasons to try them out, they're also quieter, cheaper, and help you keep fit into the bargain!"