Twenty-nine owners complained their handbrakes had failed, prompting the carmaker to issue the recall.

The problem affects cars produced between 2006 and 2007.

Honda has written to Civic owners advising them of the fault and is offering all customers a free handbrake.

The Civic is the biggest-selling model for Honda, with about 100,000 a year being produced at its factory near Swindon, Wiltshire.

The Japanese carmaker is not the only company to be affected by the problem of runaway cars.

Vauxhall was the subject of an investigation by the BBC's Watchdog programme in January of this year, over claims that it was producing cars with faulty handbrakes and its vehicles had the capacity to roll away when parked.

Around 250,000 Signum and Vectra models were subsequently recalled by the manufacturer in order to fit new springs in the handbrake.