Britain's most popular lie: 'sorry I had no mobile phone signal'

Women were better liars than men, the study found, with the most popular lie being 'sorry I had no signal'. Picture posed by a model.Photo: ALAMY

Researchers found the average Briton tells on average four lies every day or almost 1500 every year.

Almost one in six men admitted they were most likely to lie to their wife or girlfriend, on average at least twice a day.

The most popular lie was saying you had no mobile phone signal, with one in four people admitting regularly using the little white lie. It usually came after they hit the "ignore" button when their mobile rang.

One in three Britons have lied about their weight, a quarter fibbed about the amount of debt they are in and 30 per cent have bent the truth about the amount of exercise they do.

Kissing or spending the night with another person emerged as the worst lie to tell while one in five males admitted to lying to their girlfriend to go to the pub or watch sport.

Almost a quarter of blokes have told their partner they look good in an outfit, despite thinking the opposite.

More than a fifth have even lied about flirting with another woman.

More than 40 per cent of women owned up to lying about how much new clothes actually cost while 30 per cent have fibbed about how much they've had to drink.

Three quarters of people think women are better liars. The research found 46 per cent of girls have been caught lying, compared to 58 of men.

The second most common fib is ''I haven't got any cash on me'' when asked for money by tramps, beggars and Big Issue sellers.

''Nothing's wrong I'm fine'' came third followed by ''You look lovely'' and ''Nice to see you''.

Modern technology emerged as the instigator of many lies with ''I didn't get your text'' in 18th, ''Our server was down'' in 20th and ''My battery died'' in 26th place.

Other lies to make the top ten included ''I'll give you a ring'', ''We're just good friends'' and ''We'll have to meet up soon''.

''I'm on my way'' and ''No, your bum doesn't look big in that'' completed the top ten.

Men who tell the most fibs, coming out with five every day compared who women who lie just three times.

A spokesman for OnePoll, which carried out the research of 4,300 adults, said: "As a nation we are obsessed with trying to be nice and not upsetting people.

"Often little white lies can paper over what we actually want to say.

"Most of these were considered either completely harmless or tactically necessary depending on the situation in which they are delivered."

He added: "It was sad to see a string of compliments in the top 50, but once again in many cases perhaps it is better to flatter with a fib than destroy someone with the truth."

TOP 50 MOST COMMON LIES

1. I had no signal

2. I haven't got any cash on me

3. Nothing's wrong I'm fine

4. You look lovely

5. Nice to see you

6. I'll give you a ring

7. We're just good friends

8. We'll have to meet up soon

9. I'm on my way

10. No, your bum doesn't look big in that

11. Sorry, I missed your call

12. I'll give up tomorrow

13. I'm not angry with you

14. The traffic was bad

15. I've had this for ages

16. It wasn't that expensive

17. This will be my last pint

18. I didn't get your text

19. Of course I love you

20. Our server was down

21. I wasn't driving that fast

22. My alarm didn't go off

23. The cheque is in the post

24. You're looking well

25. I'd love to see you again

26. My battery died

27. It's not you, it's me

28. The train was delayed

29. I only have a little flutter

30. I'm going to the gym tonight

31. I don't eat too much I have a slow metabolism

32. My watch stopped

33. No, I'm afraid I haven't got a spare five minutes

34. I've got a call on the other line

35. I'll phone you back in a minute

36. I've got a terrible cold

37. This tastes delicious

38. I didn't have that much to drink

39. I've been in meetings all day

40. I stayed in and had a quiet one

41. It was THIS BIG

42. I'm working late tonight

43. I bought the last one

44. I'm not ready for a relationship

45. It's just what I've always wanted

46. I'm going to have one more for the road

47. I wrote your number down incorrectly

48. You look like you've lost weight

49. My car wouldn't start

50. I didn't realise you fancied him/ her too