British women hoarding 124 million unwanted bras

British women are hoarding a mountain of 124 MILLION unwanted bras – which would stretch nearly three times around the world if laid end to end.

The typical female owns 13 bras but only wears eight of them regularly, while the other five remain in drawers gathering dust.

And with the average bra costing around £28.00 that means £3.47billion worth of bras never see the light of day.

Most women said they had discarded their old bras because they no longer fit, were too old or had become discoloured or unfashionable.

The study also found women increased their spending on bras during the recession – in a bid to cheer themselves up.

A spokeswoman for www.OnePoll.com, which carried out the research among 3,000 women nationwide aged 18 to 65, said: ”Bras are a necessity and most women have one for each outfit or occasion.

”But many don’t last as long as they should so soon get condemned to life at the back of the drawers.

”Despite having a collection of fancy bras the study found most women still rely on plain black or white bras for everyday use.”

”Ill-fitting bras are also a problem, which is odd because you wouldn’t keep a collection of the wrong sized shoes, so why hoard bras which don’t fit.”

One in three women said they had treated themselves to new underwear to brighten up their day amid the financial crisis.

One in five said they splashed out on sexy undies to cheer up their man.

The poll also revealed 42 per cent of women have never been properly measured for a bra – and many have no idea exactly what their right size is.

One in five said they guessed their size, with only one in three admitting they tried on different sizes before buying one.

Almost half said they didn’t try bras on while shopping. And around 17 per cent didn’t think they were wearing the right size while another 38 per cent weren’t sure.

The poll also revealed that 69 per cent find it difficult to find a bra which fits properly.