Woman in swimsuit wearing sarongEvery year the glossy women's magazines are awash with beach diets, bikini diets and celebrity bikini body beach diets.

Yet it seems all our good intentions are going to waste with an astonishing £285m worth of bikinis never seeing the light of day.Having fully enjoyed the excesses of winter, where our pasty bodies are safely hidden from view, the sudden onset of summer leaves us fearing the very thought of a revealing two-piece.

And according to the latest research, that leaves 45 per cent of swimwear bought each summer firmly in the drawer.

The survey of 3,000 people, carried out by Tesco, revealed that not only do 28 per cent of women dread the holiday swimsuit drama, but an extremely fearful 11 per cent admitted that the thought of wearing a bikini scares them into staying at home.

Catherine Matthews, head of nutrition for tescodiets.com, told the Daily Mail: "It's a shame that for so many women, poor body image seems to be getting in the way of enjoying a holiday."

Indeed, with the predicted scorching British summer yet to make an appearance, it's time the bikini-phobes faced their fear.

Baggy T-shirts and sarongs at the ready girls...