The tale goes that the high-rolling fourth Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu, was so busy at the gambling table that instead of leaving to have dinner, her ordered his valet to "tuck some meet betwixt two slices of bread".

More than three centuries later, research has revealed that the average Brit will consume around 18,304 sandwiches, Britain's favourite desktop lunch, in their lifetime.

This means that half of Brits spend more than £48,339 on sandwiches throughout their lives.

Britain most enjoys its sandwiches on white bread, with the crusts on, according to the poll by Heinz [Seriously] Good Mayo.

More than 56% of Brits will eat at least one sandwich a day, with over a third having the exact same filling every single day.

Others are more adventurous, with unusual combinations like lasagne, instant noodles and salad cream and salt and vinegar crisps all coming up in the poll.

Britain's favourite sandwich is the humble BLT, followed by chicken mayo.

It takes a hungry Brit just eight bites across six minutes to finish their sandwich, which they prefer to have cut diagonally in half, with as much salad as possible.

See the most popular and the most unusual sandwich fillings below.

Most popular sandwich fillings
1 BLT
2 Chicken mayonnaise
3 Bacon with ketchup or brown sauce
4 Ham and cheese
5 Cheese and pickle
6 Smoked salmon and cream cheese
7 Tuna mayonnaise
8 Egg mayonnaise
9 Prawn mayonnaise
10 Cheese
11 Beef and horseradish
12 Chip butty
13 Bacon and brie
14 Coronation chicken
15 Sausage and egg
16 Egg and cress
17 Pulled pork
18 Ham salad and mayonnaise
19 Turkey and cranberry sauce
20 Corned Beef
21 Crisps
22 Fish finger and tartare sauce
23 Ham and mayonnaise
24 Peanut butter and jam
25 Just mayonnaise
Most unusual sandwich fillings loved by Brits
1 Roast dinner leftovers
2 Baked beans and cheese
3 Mayonnaise and crisps
4 Salad cream and salt and vinegar crisps
5 Leftover curry take-away
6 Instant noodle sandwich
7 Cream cheese and jam
8 Cheese and marmalade
9 Lasagne
10 Onion ring and ketchup
11 Leftover Chinese take-away
12 Cheese and chocolate spread
13 Marmite and banana
14 Peanut butter and marmite
15 Mashed potato and sweetcorn