Ham sandwiches are the lunch of choice, followed by a cheese sandwich and then a chicken sandwich. Salad comes fourth

Variety, the platitude goes, is the spice of life. When it comes to lunch, however, millions of Britons are choosing bland and repetitive instead.

More than three quarters of office workers have eaten the same midday meal for the past nine months, a study has found. One in six has chosen to repeat the same sandwich or salad for at least two years.

The most common lunch is a ham sandwich, followed by a cheese sandwich and then a chicken sandwich. Salad comes in fourth place. Egg sandwiches and prawn sandwiches also make the top ten.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, 81 per cent of respondents to the poll by New Covent Garden Soup said they were “bored”.

More than seven in ten put the lack of variety