A majority of Germans wants to scrap the euro and bring back the old currency, the deutschemark, according to a new poll published yesterday.

The Ipsos survey showed 51 per cent of people in Europe's top economy wanted their beloved deutschemark back, with 30 per cent wanting to keep the euro. The remainder was undecided.

Older Germans were keener to return to the deutschemark, with 56 per cent of those over 50 years old saying they wanted the old money back in their pockets. In contrast, only 42 per cent of those between 16 and 29 shared this view.

Sentiment in favour of the euro, which replaced the deutschemark as legal tender in 2002, has suffered in traditionally pro-European Germany following an unpopular multi-billion-euro bailout for Greece.

The latest Eurobarometer poll published by the European Union in February 2010, before the Greek debt crisis, showed 66 per cent of Germans were in favour of the euro, with only 29 per cent against.

Ipsos surveyed 1,000 people aged from 16 to 64 between April 9 and 12.