Whey aye! Geordies are the most important cheese followers within the nation with nearly half consuming at the least 24lb yearly

Geordies eat more cheese than residents of any other part of the UK, with almost half eating more than 11 kilograms (nearly two stones) every year, a study has found.

A poll of 2,000 Britons found that 47 per cent of folk from the North East – where the roll call of famous names includes Ant & Dec, Cheryl, Alan Shearer, Robson Green and Jimmy Nail – eat more than the UK average of just under 1kg per month.

Over the UK as a whole, 43 per cent of us get through 11.5kg-a-year – almost two stones – with cheddar, brie, stilton and Wensleydale among the favourites.

According to the study by snack brand, Cheez-It, other areas with a high proportion of people exceeding the average intake include Wales (46 per cent) and the East of England (also 46 per cent).

But rates were lowest in the East Midlands (38 per cent) and the South West (37 per cent).

Cheese enthusiast Ali James, 46, of Newcastle, said she once had to go without cheese for a week, and that it almost ‘sent her loopy’.

Geordies are the biggest cheese eaters in the UK, a new study has found (file photo)

The Swing Bridge in Newcastle. Research found that 47 per cent of folk from the North East eat more cheese than the UK average of just under 1kg per month (file photo)

The data manager said: ‘I have loved cheese and all things cheesy since I was a toddler – my mum says it was the first word to come out of my mouth.

‘I went on all-inclusive holiday to a yoga retreat in Spain last Easter, but there was no cheese at all, and there were no shops nearby.

I was there for a week, and by the end of it I was not relaxed at all – I was craving cheese so badly I couldn’t believe it.’