A quarter of Londoners at work during festive break

One in four Londoners is hard at work during the Christmas holidays, according to a poll.

Half said they had too much to do to take any time off, while a handful admitted they liked their jobs so much they would rather be at the office than at home with relatives.

Public sector employees were the most likely to work between Christmas Day and New Year, while those working in advertising, marketing or PR were least likely. The YouGov internet survey of 2,042 adults found nearly four out of 10 failed to take their full holiday entitlement.

British workers lose 1.3 billion days off a year, with nearly half missing between four and seven days and seven per cent losing three weeks or more. Men were worse than women at taking all their holiday, with 39 per cent losing out compared with 32 per cent of women.

Helen Warburton, head of Post Office travel services, which commissioned the survey, said: "We were surprised to discover that so many people will be at work during the festive period.

"It's also worrying to learn that so many people are not using up their holidays."