Sex is the biggest cause of modern divorces, according to a new survey
by a Bedfordshire law firm.

Family law specialist Woolley & Co, which has a base in Clophill, found that sex was a factor in 43 per cent of divorce cases.

That included gripes such as infidelity, cross-dressing, and using on-line sex forums.

Sex narrowly edged out 'lifestyle' reasons, which were cited in 37 per cent of cases, covering factors such as work pressures, growing apart, cultural differences, illness and things such as moving home or children being born.

Family law expert Lisa Smith said: "The squeeze of the current economic climate is definitely starting to have an effect and we would expect to see the number involving money issues continue to rise.

"In particular, couples who perhaps enquired about how they might go about splitting assets and selling a house earlier in the year have now come back, wanting to move things along very quickly.

"It will be interesting to carry out another survey in 12 months and see if these figures have changed though."

Top six reasons for divorce:

Sex - 43 per cent of cases
Lifestyle - 37 per cent
Personality - 24 per cent
Power - 21 per cent
Money - 11 per cent
Technology - 11 per cent.