A GEORDIE accent sounds common, but an Irish accent is sexy, according to a straw poll of North-Easterners.

A national poll to find the nation's sexiest accents by the Alliance and Leicester, found that Irish comes top with 25 per cent of the vote, with Geordie coming in a respectable fourth with eight per cent.

But local enthusiasm for the Geordie twang is hard to find, with people finding it harsh in comparison to the gentle lilt of an Irish accent, such as that of singer Ronan Keating.

Mike Davenport, lecturer in the Linguistic and English Language Department at the University of Durham, says romantic ideals are to blame.

He said: "Stereotypes and preconceptions are involved when people are thinking about accents.

"With Irish, there is a romantic notion of what the country is like. These expectations are related to British stereotypes rather than the actual voice itself."

So, it seems the reason why North-Easterners find their own accent uninspiring is that they know what its like to live here and have no romantic ideals of life with a fellow Geordie.

Certainly, Stacey Rowley, a 17-year-old student from Darlington agreed. She said: "Scottish is sexiest. Our North-East accent is horrible."

Her friend Jennifer Hole, also 17 and from Darlington said: "Geordie accents are too common. Scottish is best, though I am half-Scottish!"

Jamal Akhzam, 37, from Barton said: "The North-East accent is not unattractive, but the Queen's English is my favourite. It is the easiest to understand."

There were also several votes for the Irish.

Teacher Mike Hatch 47, from Darlington said: "Irish is my number one accent, there is a nice lilt to it. Mild Geordie is attractive but it can sometimes be too harsh"

Lesley Iveson 40, who works in advertising, from East Lowton, said: "I like the Irish accent. It just sounds more sexy than Geordie."