Marrying your childhood sweetheart might be a romantic dream for many - but figures show it more often becomes a nightmare.

Analysis suggests that a plummeting divorce rate is partly being driven by sensible couples who are now more likely to wait before they walk down the aisle.

New figures from the Office of National Statistics show that in 2015 101,055 couples divorced, the lowest number since 1971.

The number of opposite-sex couples divorcing fell by more than a third between 2003 and 2015 and by 9.1 per cent between 2014 and 2015, the biggest drop in more than 40 years.

In its report the ONS said: "Age at marriage is also considered to be closely linked to the risk of divorce with those marrying in their teens and early twenties being at greater risk of divorce; our marriage statistics show that the average age at marriage has increased steadily since 1970 for both men and women."