Santa’s naughty list of famous people was topped by Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, both of whom can presumably expect to find lumps of coal in their stocking on Christmas Day.

The online survey of 1,107 children was conducted by E-Poll Market Research to gauge American children's attitudes about the people they think have been naughty or nice. Britney was awarded top naughty honours with children aged 2-12) thanks to her rehab stints, ongoing custody battles and her infamous performance at the MTV Video Music Awards. Paris was next in line thanks to her three-week jail term for a driving violation.

According to the tots, the uber-celebs are less deserving of Christmas cheer than Swiper the Fox, a character from TV show Dora the Explorer, the Grinch and Star Wars villain Darth Vader.

Naughty or nice?

The teenage children polled in the survey also ranked Spears and Hilton at the top their naughty list. They topped addled actress Lindsay Lohan, who spent 84 minutes behind bars this year for a drunken driving and cocaine-possession conviction, and pop diva Beyonce Knowles.

In contrast to Britney and Paris, Disney star Hannah Montana, played by Billy Ray Cyrus’ daughter Miley, was overwhelmingly deemed the nicest famous figure among children aged 2 to 12. For teenagers aged 13 to 17, actress Angelina Jolie topped the nice list thanks to her United Nations ambassadorial work and adoption of needy children.