MOST people in the North-East are unaware of York’s chocolate heritage and the length of time Newcastle has been referred to as ‘the Toon’, a study has claimed.

A poll by Hotel chain Travelodge found only 35 per cent of North-East adults knew York was known as ‘the Chocolate city’ due to the city’s historic confectionery industry, including plants such as Terry’s, Rowntrees and Nestle.

The survey found many North-Easterners struggle to identify some of the UK’s most celebrated cities that have been awarded a nickname due to their historic background, natural beauty or industrial importance.

Half of those polled were unaware Aberdeen is dubbed the ‘Granite City’, 18 per cent were ignorant of the fact that Sheffield is known as the ‘City of Steel’ and 25 per cent of those polled knew ‘The Toon’ had been a nickname for Newcastle for 1,500 years.

A Travelodge spokeswoman said: “Our findings have revealed we do need to swot up and experience first-hand the locations that have helped make Britain so great, especially to help the younger generations appreciate our heritage.”

Dr Tom Clark, of Sheffield University, added: “Names like ‘The Toon’ help to evoke a sense of a place, without these descriptive adornments - and more importantly, what they represent - we could be in danger of losing a vital sense of ourselves.”