47pc adults send 'sext messages' to their partners

And one in nine people ‘sexts' their partner every day, a new survey has found.

But the poll of 2,000 adults conducted by mobile phone experts found that one in 10 have mistakenly texted an inappropriate message to a friend or family member.

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And one in seven of those in a relationship (14 per cent) have deleted ‘sexts' from their phone so that they don't get caught out.

The poll also found almost one in five phone users are risking their relationship by secretly sexting people other than their partner.

And 12 per cent have given their number to someone they've flirted with, despite already being in a relationship.

However, ten per cent of unfaithful men have been caught sending a ‘sext' to their partner that was meant for someone else.

And, although 19 per cent of men think romantic video calls make their love life more exciting, intimate pictures and videos of celebrities regularly cropping up in the media make a further 14 per cent of cautious Brits too scared to do so.

"Our research reveals that sexting and romantic video calling has clearly become more commonplace in today's society as people get more and more confident with their smartphones and using texts to conduct relationships," says mobile phone expert Hannah Bouckley.

"For those of you who are doing so, make sure you password-protect you phone - and your partner's," Bouckley suggested.