Forget man-flu, when it comes to the sniffles, office girls are the queens of the sickies

It is women who are more likely to take days off work with a bout of the sniffles, a survey shows.

The concept of man-flu - a mild cold portrayed by its weak male victim as agonising incapacitation - is all but demolished.

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Two-thirds of men will turn up at work with a cold, compared to just half of women. The North-East of England appears to breed the toughest of the species.

Among men aged 45-54 working in manufacturing and living in Newcastle, 70 per cent would go to work while suffering.

At the other end of the scale are Brighton and Nottingham, the UK's wimp-out capitals.

Women living there and working in the travel industry make up the category most likely to call in sick, with only 21 per cent saying they would battle in to work.

Beechams surveyed more than 2,000 adults about how they cope with cold and flu symptoms.

It found 64 per cent of men who have suffered such symptoms in the past year have carried on going into work, but only 54 per cent of women have made the effort.

In both sexes and in all areas, it found those aged 45-55 are most likely to leave their sickbed and clock in.

Men in manufacturing and other manual jobs such as construction are the most rugged, with 72 per cent working on when they feel ill. Women aged 18-24 in white collar occupations such as travel, hotels and public relations are the most vulnerable.

Some 65 per cent of hospitality industry workers had exaggerated their cold symptoms so they could stay off work for a day.

Other "wimpy" professions include IT, lawyers and accountants, who will make the most of even the most minor of symptoms, the survey reported.

Beechams spokesman Francesca Gates said: "Overall, we Brits should be proud of ourselves. The research reveals a huge 59 per cent are fighters, battling on against the symptoms of colds to carry on as normal.

"Busy lives mean many of us simply can't give up at the first sign of a sniffle. We have too many responsibilities, be it work, family or home."

Among the bizarre excuses given by workers taking a day off were: My cat is depressed; My hamster died; Watford got relegated and I couldn't face work; A bird pooed on my head; I'm having a bad hair day; I can't find my false teeth; My dog caught fire; I have to go to the first day of the Next sale; My brain hurts; I was cooking my breakfast in the microwave and it exploded.