PEOPLE IN Southampton have been branded the dirtiest in the country, according to a new survey.

Most people in the city only change their bed sheets after two weeks and almost half clean their fridge once a month.

The research, commissioned by property buyers Good Move, found that 47 per cent of Sotonians only remove the contents of their fridge and give it a spray and wipe once a month, while a fifth only clean it once a year.

And the findings said 43 percent of householders leave mopping their floor out of their cleaning routine entirely.

The figures also showed that 43 per cent of people in Southampton say that their cleaning routine only consists of hoovering, wiping surfaces and cleaning the bathroom.

When it comes down to the inside of cupboards and kitchen drawers, 59 per cent of Sotonians only empty the contents and pick up the antibacterial spray once a year - while a further 13 per cent admit they don’t do it at all.

Finally 41 per cent say they only scrub the inside of their microwave once a month, and 26 per cent do it once a year.

But cleaning experts from Southampton company Merry Maids said their clients’ homes were well looked after.

Manager Anna Riley said: “I would say that changing your sheets every two weeks is fine. And cleaning the fridge would be part of a deep cleaning service which most people only do once a year. But we would definitely mop the kitchen floor, after we’ve hoovered it.”

Southampton came first in the list of dirtiest residents, with Nottingham, Glasgow Edinburgh and Leeds next in the list.