They are almost urban myths tales of insulting, explicit and inappropriate emails being sent in error, and every office it seems has at least one casualty.

Indeed, an accidental 'click' has famously ended more than a few high-flying careers.

But according to a new survey, the e-calamity syndrome is more prevalent than researchers originally imagined.

The survey of office staff, commissioned by recruitment consultants Pertemps, which has an office in Commercial Road, discovered that more than three-quarters of those interviewed admitted to sending confidential information by mistake.

A further 65 per cent confessed to copying the wrong people into sensitive emails. Alarmingly, the poll also revealed the extent of 'e-moaning', where disgruntled employees let off steam about their colleagues or boss by email, despite the very real risk that the email chain could find its way back to the subject in question.

Janet McGlaughlin, director of Pertemps, said: "While most email errors are damaging, there is still ample scope to cause a lot of embarrassment and even damage your reputation.

"Bear in mind that email is still a business correspondence and should be treated as such.

"Check emails as thoroughly as you would check a business letter, because recipients can and will draw the same judgements about your professionalism if they find glaring errors."

As such, the company has drawn up a list of dos-and-don'ts in order to help staff avoid the embarrassment of an e-calamity.

You should check you are sending the email to the right person; never criticise your colleagues by email; use inappropriate language; distinguish friends from business associates in your address book; proof and spell check the emails you send out and avoid sending personal email mails from your work account.