Gwyneth hits out at Britain

She once found fault with British men before, a year later, marrying one.

Now Gwyneth Paltrow has turned her critical gaze on Britain itself.

And the American actress, who has lived in London since her wedding to rock singer Chris Martin two years ago, has found plenty more to complain about.

The streets are too dirty, customer service is 'just rubbish' and the weather is 'cold and depressing'. The Californian-born Oscar winner revealed her litany of grumbles about British life in an interview with the U.S. edition of Marie Claire magazine about what it is like to be an expat.

She admits that after years of finding Britain 'cold and depressing' she has grown to like it. But she adds: 'My husband thinks I'm way too obsessed with cleanliness and germs. I'm just like, "The street is filthy, could we take off our shoes before we come into the house?" He used to imitate me and say, "Ewwww, oh my God!" Also, the customer service is just rubbish in England. People are much more relaxed there, and things take for ever to get done.

'They'll tell you it'll take two weeks for your Internet service to be fixed! It drives me nuts. And I miss being able to get anything at any time of day. You can't do that there.'

Miss Paltrow, 33, whose daughter Apple is now 18 months, also advised American readers that the British weather is dreadful. 'Bring a raincoat, definitely!' she said. 'Or at least a little umbrella that can fit in your bag, because it always does rain. The best thing for London, even if you're going in the summer, is to bring a little cashmere sweater or a pashmina because it gets really cold unexpectedly.'

The star's comments dismayed the tourist board VisitBritain. A spokesman said: 'We dispute what Miss Paltrow has said. Thanks to the work of groups like Keep Britain Tidy, the streets and beaches are cleaner than they have been in decades.

'We have a very mild climate - we often miss out on the snow that the rest of Europe gets - and in London there are only an average of 153 wet days a year.

'And the best thing about our service is how polite we are - something the millions of Americans who visit Britain each year really appreciate.'

Two year ago, Miss Paltrow called British traffic wardens officious for not allowing illegal parking and said that fines were 'inordinately high'.