Despite the common belief that women head on holiday with bulging suitcases full of useless items, research by HolidayExtras.com shows that ladies win the battle of the sexes when it comes to packing.

The recent survey showed that, contrary to popular belief; it is men who fail to pack light, with the majority (64 per cent) returning from holiday with 20 per cent of the clothes in their suitcase unworn, 10 per cent more than women.

81 per cent of men in the poll came home with more than a fifth of their clothes untouched.  It seems that many of us are wasting money paying for hold luggage packed with clothes we don’t need.

However, the research by the UK’s leading holiday add-on company showed that despite breaking convention and being savvy with the contents of their luggage, ladies really do take more shoes away than their partners.

However, shoes may be women’s downfall: 92 per cent of men are modest packers and take up to three pairs of shoes on holiday, compared to 67 per cent of women.

At the other end of the scale, over a quarter (26 per cent) of ladies take between four and nine pairs of shoes with seven per cent of those polled holidaying with ten or more choices of footwear.

When it came to holiday essentials, 22% of respondents said they returned without having to use their first aid box, and when asked what item they always pack for their holidays but never use, 55% of customers admitted taking numerous pairs of shoes and 11% take jewellery and accessories that they never wear.