“The price of most food had started to fall between 2014 and June 2015, with the exception of fruit,” said spokesperson Chloe Miles of the BDA.

“Most of the population do know that meeting your five-a-day is important, however if you are unable to afford them it makes it really difficult to implement this recommendation.”

The new figures were described as "highly worrying" by health experts who called on the government to do more to encourage healthy eating.

Dr Gunter Kuhnle, associate professor in nutrition and health, University of Reading, said: “The results show very clearly how difficult it is to change dietary patterns.

“The five-a-day-campaign has been running for a long time and most people are aware of it. And even though most people would agree that eating more fruits and vegetables are beneficial, most people don’t achieve the 5-a-day.”

The survey is based on around 21,000 people in Britain who were asked to keep a diary of their eating habits for four days.