A new OnePoll survey has revealed that Devon is the most adulterous county in the UK, with 44% of spouses currently playing away, and 4% admitting to an affair in the past. As well as being the county with the least faithful spouses, Devon also happens to be Country Life's favourite county - take from that what you will.
The survey of 4,000 married couples, commissioned by dating website IllicitEncounters.com, showed that Surrey is the most faithful county, with less than 1% currently cheating on their partner and only 2% cheating in the past.
Nationally, 3% of spouses admitted to affairs, and 7% said they had cheated in the past. A further 5% said they would cheat if they thought they would get away with it.
Sara Hartley of IllictEncounters.com said: ‘In our opinion, Devon respondents have just been more honest in their answers. It's been previously estimated that about 40% of women and 60% of men cheat during marriage, so these figures seem incredibly low!
‘Traditional values have a strong hold in rural towns and villages, so many feel a strong pressure to marry. As a result, we see a lot of members from places like Devon who married young and now feel trapped in their relationships.
‘The Western Isles, which is widely considered to be one of the most religious places in the UK, has a higher percentage of IllicitEnounters.com members than most other counties.'
Here are the top 10 cheating counties:
1. Devon (47%) 2. Avon (19%) 3. Lincolnshire (12.5%) 4. Hampshire (10.5%) 5. Derbyshire (10%) 6. Cheshire (9%) 7. South Yorkshire (9%) 8. Kent (7.5%) 9. Essex (7%) 10. Hertfordshire (7%)
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