The majority of males only take three pairs of underwear on a seven-day trip, a poll by travel agent www.sunshine.co.uk found.

In contrast, most women take 10 lots of underwear on a week-long holiday, the survey of 1,294 people showed.

Of the men who admitted they did not take enough underwear, 12 per cent said they planned to wash items while on holiday while 37 per cent expected to be wearing swimming trunks most of the time. Male holidaymakers ­reckoned they wore 98 per cent of the clothing they took away with them, while women, on average, estimated they only donned 61 per cent of their packed items.While seven per cent of men bought clothing on holiday, 47 per cent of women did.

Around a third of those polled, each of whom had been on a week-long trip in the last 12 months, said they had exceeded their luggage allowance either leaving the UK or returning to it. Most of those with excess luggage were women.

Sunshine.co.uk co-founder Chris Brown said: “Evidently, the packing habits of men and women vary considerably and the majority of men seem to go for the minimal approach.

“It is quite stereotypical to suggest that women over-pack, but the fact that the majority only wore around 61 per cent of their suitcase contents just goes to show there might be some truth in the matter.”