WORK Lunchtime becomes an endangered ritual

Lunch is once again for wimps, according to a new report which found that nearly one in three workers said they never took a lunch break - four times the number in 1990. The annual Eurest Lunchtime Report found that women were the worst affected, with 35 per cent saying they never stopped for lunch.

More than half said they were under at least as much pressure at work as they were during the recession. Older workers - 55 and older - took the shortest lunches, with 70 per cent gulping down their food in 30 minutes or less. The average worker now takes 33 minutes for lunch - two-and-a- half minutes less than at the beginning of the decade.

More than eight out of 10 of us never drink at lunchtime - 15 per cent less than in 1990 - and we spend on average pounds 1.45 on our midday meal.

The Eurest Lunchtime Report is available from Jane Crocker, Eurest, Queen's Wharf, Queen Caroline Street, London, W6 9RJ