12pc of young people have never seen a cow

One in eight young people has never seen a cow in real life, according to a survey.

While they may have spotted a cow on television, 12 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds are so unfamiliar with the countryside they have never seen cattle in person. A fifth said they have never even left the city they live in.

The research also found a substantial lack of knowledge among young adults when it came to basic fruit and vegetables. More than half did not know strawberries were a summer fruit. Some 2,000 people were polled by the Prince’s Countryside Fund.