British bra sizes are growing… and Wigan has biggest at 36F

IT is a former mill town with rugby prowess, the birthplace of George Formby and home of the world pie eating championships.

But now Wigan has another claim to fame – its female residents apparently boast the biggest bust sizes in Britain.

The average bra size bought there is 36F, according to sales figures from leading High Street retailer Debenhams.

Since 2011, the average UK bra size has increased from 34C to 34D. But there is a north-south divide, with curvy Northerners fuelling the growth.

After Wigan, the next biggest bras are bought in Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle and Scotland. The smallest bras are bought in Portsmouth, where the average is said to be 34A.

Whereas Scots on average wear 34DD, Welsh women have the smallest average cup size at 34B, and English and Irish women are both on average 34C. The variation and growth in sizes across the country can be linked to weight, age and an increase in breast surgery, according to experts.

However, it turns out 63 per cent of the women polled by Debenhams were wearing the wrong bra size, while 37 per cent admitted to having never being fitted.

Debenhams sells on average 10,000 bras per week – which means around 6,000 bras are bought in the incorrect size.

The department store conducted the poll in a year-long survey to launch its Bra Fit campaign encouraging women to get measured correctly to avoid the sideeffects of ill-fitting bras such as back pain, headaches, sagging breasts and skin bulging out over the bra. Sharon Webb, head of Debenhams Lingerie, said: ‘As breast size can fluctuate due to a number of factors we recommend getting fitted every six months.’