This old thing? I've had it for ages, honest

EIGHT out of ten women admit regularly ripping the price tag off newly-purchased items before arriving home to hide the true cost from their partners.

A study found millions of women try to cover their tracks after a spree by fibbing about the price of clothes, shoes and accessories.

The report revealed two thirds often describe new items as "an absolute bargain" in a bid to throw their partner off the scent. Others regularly claim "it was in the sale".

A quarter said they hid new purchases in the wardrobe, while just under half claim: "It's not new, I've had it for ages."

Lynsey Walden of Gocompare.com, which ran the study of 3,000 women, said: "The most common reason for women lying about their shopping habits is because they feel guilty for spending money.

"And often girls already have plenty of clothes in their wardrobe to cover every occasion.

"But it's always disappointing returning home with a purchase and feeling all excited from the retail therapy, only to get a disapproving glance from the husband or boyfriend.

"So women have invented a whole list of little white lies which they bring out whenever they suspect the other half won't like the fact they have gone into the overdraft or arrived home with bags of goodies."

The study also found other fibs include "I bought it with Christmas or birthday money" (20 per cent) and "I have nothing else that fits" (19 per cent).

A fifth of women said they often tried to convince their other halves clothes they bought had been dramatically reduced, while 17 per cent claimed they had vouchers that needed using.

Another 17 per cent had pretended the item was bought for them by someone else.

The study also showed women fib at least once a month about their purchases. However, 48 per cent said their partner rarely had a clue what they bought, so it was easy to escape interrogation, while 47 per cent said they felt guilty about their spending even if their partner didn't mind.

A quarter of women said they usually withdrew money from their joint account to pay for clothing so that they did not show up on bank statements.

The good news for men was that the average British women actually only spends 42.34 a month on clothes.

Ms Walden added: "At the end of the day, as long as women aren't totting up a huge credit card bill, there is no reason why they shouldn't indulge in a bit of shopping every now and then."