But doctors have warned flip flops can be as bad for your health as they are for your career.

Business chiefs said last month that wearing them to work was an invitation to be sacked.

Now medics have joined the attack by saying they can lead to joint pain, shin splints and twisted ankles.

Mike O'Neill, a Windsor-based foot surgeon who regularly treats patients with flip flop injuries, described them as 'dangerous'.

'Wearing flat shoes stretches the calf muscles hugely if the wearer is used to wearing a heel,' he said. 'It strains the achilles tendon and the back of the leg. Pain can start to develop after two weeks.'

He said the single thong between the toes offered the wearer 'no support'.

Doctors recommend that flip flops should be saved for the beach and replaced with shoes with backs or proper straps to hold the foot in place. Figures show that 55,100 men and women went to hospital with flip flop-related complaints in 2002.

Harley Street foot surgeon Barry Francis says he sees six patients a week with flat shoe injuries. 'The problems are down to overuse,' he said. 'When people wear flip flops all the time they are constantly scrunching their toes up into a claw.

'That can cause problems such as tendonitis and even shin splints. People go to work in them and stand in them all day. They are also extremely unstable so you are more likely to trip over and hurt yourself.

'Every shoe fashion causes problems to an extent although this one seems to be taking a while to subside.'

Another doctor reported a spate of injuries among women wearing another 'danger' shoe: the high heel.

'Women are dressing differently and a lot of them are coming in with high heel shoe injuries,' said Dr Rupert Evans, of the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. 'It has definitely been caused by the good weather, women being out and about and drinking more in the evenings.

'If a woman is tipsy and wearing a high heel she will be unstable. In the event of a fall the damage will often include a dislocation of the ankle, torn ligaments and even a break. These injuries are the equivalent of a serious injury from a rugby tackle.'

A spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said: 'In this hot weather having your toes in the open air is obviously very attractive but people should be aware of what they are doing and where they are going as they are not suitable for every situation.'