The average Brit has sex 42 times a year, a new survey has revealed. But while some are leading lustful lives, others are spending their evenings staring into their cocoa and going to bed with nothing better than a good book.

The nation's libidos vary wildly from town to town, according to the study, with the poor residents of Ipswich faring the worst.

Dwellers of the Suffolk town clock up a measly 18 sessions in the sack per year compared to the rampant residents of Bradford, West Yorkshire, who make love an average of 66.5 times a year.

The poll of 2,000 UK residents was conducted by Dulux, which is launching a campaign to find out if the act of decorating can stimulate Britain's most sexually inactive town into more amorous action.

The paint manufacturing giant is asking for willing couples within the Suffolk area to apply for 500 litres of free red paint - enough to paint 100 bedrooms - in return for recording any change in their sexual activity over a month-long period.



Letty Edwards, UK Marketing Director of Dulux, comments: "Paint is one of the least expensive ways to transform a room, which in turn creates an emotional effect that can help improve relationships within the home. By transforming people's bedrooms and analysing the results we'll be able to show the effect the act decorating can have both aesthetically and emotionally, and remind people just how valuable a newly painted space can be."

Relationship expert Dr. Pam Spurr told HuffPost Lifestyle there could well be a link between decorating and feeling amorous: "Every aspect of our environment affects the way we feel and that includes the colours and style of our home decorating. Our surroundings can lift our mood, making us feel more positive, happy, and comfortable and that sort of psychological effect crosses into how you and your partner feel together in your personal space.
 
"Picture a dingy dull bedroom that hasn't been decorated for years contrasted with a freshly painted and nurtured room - just visualising two such rooms and you immediately imagine the different ways they'd make you feel. The first would have a negative impact and the second would give you a natural boost."

Top 10 Towns That Have The Least Amount Of Sex A Year

1. Ipswich = 18.1 times

2. Coventry = 18.8 times

3. Cardiff = 25.7 times

4. Derby = 30 times

5. Swindon = 30.8 times

6. Preston = 30.9 times

7. York = 31.6 times

8. Croydon = 32 times

9. Leicester = 32.2 times

10. Southampton = 32.9 times




Top 10 Towns That Have The Most Sex In A Year

1. Bradford = 66.5 times

2. Aberdeen = 62.5 times

3. Doncaster = 60.1 times

4. Birmingham = 57.1 times

5. Hull / Warrington = 56.3 times

6. Cambridge = 55.1 times

7. Brighton = 53.1 times

8. Middlesbrough = 52.9 times

9. Wolverhampton =  52 times

10. Belfast = 51.5 times

For those who don't fancy a red bedroom wall but do fancy more red-hot sex, we asked Dr Pam to share her top sex-life lifting tips:

Create a boudoir
Many couples wish they could have more sex and if you want to increase the frequency of sex start by thinking about your bedroom and how you can give it a seductive 'boudoir' vibe. Remember when you were first together? You made sure things were pretty perfect including having candles lit, fresh linen, soft cushions, CDs ready, etc., when your new partner was coming over. Rekindle this sense that you want things to feel special at home - at least in your bedroom.

Plan date nights
Definitely plan regular date nights that are sacrosanct. Couples do worry this will take the spontaneity out of having a romantic evening. But if you're both working - and perhaps factoring in children - if you don't get dates in your diary things may not happen at all.

Keep a pleasure chest
Keep a 'pleasure chest' handy [lockable if you have children] that's full of all the things you might need for a spontaneous evening or afternoon of lovemaking. It should contain your favourite massage oil, sensual lubricant, condoms if you're using them, erotica, a blindfold, etc. Having things ready means you're more likely to seize the moment.

Carry on flirting
Definitely keep the flirting going during the day with little messages and gifts. If you create a feel-good bubble around you, you're more likely to feel more desire.

Follow Dr Pam on twitter @drpamspurr