Tables turned as women plan leap year proposals

Many men may find themselves on the receiving end of a leap year marriage proposal later this month, with research suggesting that up to 6 per cent of women are planning to get down on one knee.

The tradition of women seizing the initiative and proposing on February 29 appears to still be going strong, with more than one in 20 women surveyed for Nationwide Building Society saying they are planning to propose to their partner at some point this year.

Nearly one in three women surveyed also said they would consider making a leap year proposal, while more than one in 10 said they had already asked for their partner's hand in marriage - and just 7 per cent of them were turned down.

Some 7 per cent of women surveyed saw a leap year proposal as a good opportunity for those who were fed up waiting for their other half to ask them.