Life coach Judy Jones, co-author of Downshifting: the Guide to Happier, Simpler Living insists that spring cleaning our friendships is essential to our emotional health.

“You should remember that the joys of de-cluttering are not restricted to your house or your wardrobe, but are relevant to your relationships as well,” she says.

“Friendship shouldn’t be an effort, but a joy, and sometimes we forget that. If you find your friends are not nourishing and sustaining you through life, then they are not true friends, but toxic friends.”

Toxic friends are a negative force in our lives. But what can be done about them?

“You can’t simply sack your friend,” says Jones. But if we believe our lives would be better without them, she says, we should make it plain we are moving on.

If you have a friend whose negativity is getting you down try putting some distance between you and them, speaking less on the phone, busying yourself in other activities and, more importantly, with other friends.

“Stress how much you are enjoying your life at the moment and how busy you are,” says Jones. “Gently let them down by showing that you are happy without them.”

But how do you spot the people in your life without whom you would be better off? We asked relationship experts to help us identify six kinds of friends to be wary of.

THE UNCONSTRUCTIVE FRIEND

It may be a consciously sly criticism about the way you look or an inadvertent insult which detracts from your good mood, but this friend will always dampen your spirits.

Damian Barr, author of Get it Together, the “quarterlife crisis” survival guide, says this behaviour is often down to jealousy or unhappiness on your so-called friend’s part: “This person believes there is only a limited amount of success or happiness in the world. Therefore, if you’re happy or successful it is somehow at their expense and they don’t like it. You’re stealing the joy. So they delight in putting you down.

“When you are on the up, instead of celebrating with you they say things like: ‘enjoy it while it lasts’. These are sour words from a sour friend. Dump them.”

THE DAME EDNA AND MADGE FRIEND

When Dame Edna Everage took centre stage, she never allowed her friend Madge to be anything more than an unattractive sidekick. If you are constantly forced to play Madge to your Dame Edna, it is time to speak up and step out from their shadow.

“Ask yourself: ‘are you a friend or an accessory? A woman or a handbag?’,” says Barr. “We all like to look good in company. But being fabulous doesn’t need to be at your expense. They dislike the fact that you both have the potential to be charming and dazzling, so like to hold court. Only the insecure need someone dull by their side to feel and look great. But it is your responsibility to shine in your own right.”

THE DEPRESSING FRIEND

You are not a human crutch to support your friend. It is nice to feel needed and wanted in a crisis, but when your friend constantly relies on you for help it can get you down. “Listening to endless tales of woe can be very wearing,” says Jones. “You can become so infected with their negativity that it will drag you down.”

Jones believes these people are perpetual pessimists who don’t want to be cheered up - so invest your positive energy in someone else.

“If you lean on something for too long the prop collapses, so you have to make sure you are not that prop. Nothing you say will perk them up so don’t waste your time,” she says.

THE USER

If your friend seems more interested in who you know and what you do for a living than your qualities as a friend, alarm bells should ring.

If they are just interested in being your “plus one” at parties but are nowhere to be seen when you want a quiet night in to talk over your problems, make a conscious decision not to be part of their social climbing agenda.

“There’s such a thing as friendship karma and what goes around should come around,” says Barr. “On some level all friendships, especially those formed in the office, are transactional. They can be worthwhile if you are both helping each other at work. But you need beware that people are unscrupulous and will use you.

“If you are constantly putting in (and giving out contacts, money and time) and getting nothing back, then it is not a fair transaction. Be pragmatic - if you can’t make the relationship mutually beneficial, then what’s the point?”

Outside work, Barr insists, there should be no room for the “I’ll scratch your back if you’ll scratch mine” philosophy: “I think this kind of relationship can be very undermining - there is nothing worse than the feeling of being used because you also feel stupid because you didn’t see it coming. Save your resources for friends who deserve them.”

THE UNRELIABLE FRIEND

“If your friend has left you standing in the bar alone too many times, then maybe stop meeting them and see how they like being stood up,” advises Barr. “A lack of commitment from a friend is so insulting because it is obvious they are waiting for something or someone better to come along.”

Yes, friendships should be flexible - after all, we all get busy and occasionally have to cancel plans. But if you have had more excuses for being abandoned at the last minute than you have enjoyed times with your pal, get rid of them.

“Friendship needs commitment and effort,” Barr says. “This includes turning up to things and being there for others. If you can’t rely on someone meeting you for a drink you can’t rely on them in a crisis, so spare yourself now.”

THE DRAMA QUEEN

Does she call you up in floods of tears because she went out with a guy once and he didn’t call again? Does she ruin your Friday nights in the pub with her angst-ridden insecurities about how she performed at work that week? Does she cause a scene if someone spills a drop of white wine on her new dress? She is a drama queen - she will never have time for you or your concerns.

A friend with a “me, me, me” mindset will neither realise they know very little about your life, and nor will they care.