Anti-bacterial wipes only eradicate bacteria from kitchen surfaces for 20 minutes and using them to keep germs at bay is "an absolutely redundant" exercise, a scientist has said.

Dr Clare Lanyon, a biomedical scientist from Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne, said consumers may be wasting money on antibacterial wipes and sprays because common germs, which can replicate themselves in just 20 minutes, quickly recolonise back to original mass even if just one single cell is left over.

She said bar soap was found to be more effective at destroying bacteria because they tended to contain ingredients that broke down cell walls.

Dr Lanyon was speaking to The Telegraph after conducting an experiment for the BBC programme, Trust Me I'm A Doctor, which found "dramatic growth" of microbes within 12 hours of cleaning of a regular kitchen surface with wipes.

She said it was always important to clean up thoroughly after handling raw meat to minimise the risk of harmful "foreign organisms" spreading but that this was most effectively done by scrubbing with soap.