One in seven British men 'believe they are going to hell when they die'

A poll showed one in 10 people generally believed they are going to hell

One in seven men in Britain believe they are heading to hell when they die, according to new research.

A survey by polling company YouGov has revealed that a small but significant minority – 10 per cent of the population – think that, if a heaven or hell does exist, they are destined for damnation.

But among men specifically, 14 per cent believe the fires of hell are awaiting them, compared to six per cent of women.

The poll found that British people do tend to believe they will be judged favourably at the gates of St Peter – with 48 per cent saying they believed they would go to heaven.

According to the research, 68 per cent of people said they feared death, with 20 per cent saying it scared them a lot.

The median age people hope to live to is 90, with 27 per cent of people wanting to live forever.

40 per cent said they would die happy if they were to die today, compared to 32 per cent who said they would not.

And it seems that contentment grows with age – with 50 per cent of those aged 60 saying they would die happy if they died now and 25 per cent saying they would die unhappy.