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METRO managers say they will strive to improve after bug-busting boffins claimed their carriages were the filthiest in Britain.

Scientists from Aston University, working for cleaning brand Dettol, took samples from city transport services including the London Underground and busses in Cardiff.

Manchester’s MetroLink came out top, with an average of only 213 bacteria per square centimetre tested - but in a single coach on Newcastle’s network they found more than 190,000 bacteria specimens living on a small patch of seat.

Richard McClean, managing director of Metro operator DB Regio, said he was “disappointed and surprised” by the results given the efforts the company had been making to improve hygiene.

“We will be getting in touch with Dettol’s researchers to understand these results better, as well as looking at what we can do to improve things,” he said. As the survey shows, cleanliness is important to the people of Tyne and Wear and, like them, we are going out of our way to improve things.

“All the seats were steam-cleaned last summer and are shampooed every eight weeks.

“We are also investing in specialist equipment to deal with the worst dirt.

“Passenger surveys show that 70 out of 100 passengers are satisfied with the cleanliness of the inside of the trains.

“This figure is 5% more than 12 months ago.”

Lab tests of swabs taken from the Metro also found 1,390 bacteria living on an area of pole, 505 on an open-close button and 480 on a handrail.

Huw Lewis, head of communications for Metro owner Nexus, said one possible reason for the findings could be the types of seats in the carriages.

“The only thing I’ve heard suggested so far for why the Metro has come out bottom is that we have proper cushions while the others have either hard seats or only thin pads,” he said.

“But someone once told me that the average tea towel has three million bacteria per square centimetre.

“If that’s true and the Metro has an average of 48,000 then it’s not too bad.”

A spokesman for Dettol’s Mission for Health campaign, Dr Dawn Harper said she hoped the findings would make people apply their common sense when it came to cleanliness.

“No-one is suggesting we try to live in a sterile bubble,” she said.

“That’s not practical and it wouldn’t be much fun either.

“But being savvy about hygiene when we are out and about, like not eating food left on seats or being mindful of a child dropping a dummy, makes a lot of sense.”