THERE is a North-South divide in the kind of underwear women wear, according to a new survey.

The research, carried out by Woman and Home magazine, claims women in the North-East are more likely to wear "big pants" than their southern counterparts.

A total of 1,000 women were polled and 23 per cent of women in the North said they favoured larger knickers, compared with just 15 per cent in the south.

The survey also revealed that women in their forties were more likely not to wear any at all than those in their twenties.

Briefs proved to be the favourite form of underwear across the country as a whole, with 44 per cent of the vote, while 19 per cent opted for larger pants, 16 per cent for bikinis and ten per cent for G-strings.

But lingerie shop owner Jean Walker, of Lady J, in Post House Wynd, Darlington, was unconvinced.

She said: "When we sell a bra it is always the matching G-string that women go for more than the brief. Years ago, when we got sets into the shop we only got the briefs, but now every range has the G-string with them."

However, the women surveyed said they did not like to spend large amounts of money on their underwear, with 63 per cent saying they had spent less than £25 on their most expensive item.