One in five Brits would like to get back with their first love

At least 21 per cent of Brits admitted they are secretly planning a reunion with their first lover - and men are most likely to carry a torch for an old flame, with 24 per cent admitting they still lust after an ex, the Daily Mail reported.

As many as fourteen per cent of people have actually got back in touch with an ex hoping to reignite the passion, and one in six men are still secretly in contact with a former partner.

It seems Londoners are the most likely to deceive their current partner, with 19 per cent of people from the capital lying about being in contact with a former lover - and 100 per cent of those who have made contact say they did so expressly to get back together.

Although women are less likely to get in contact with an ex, four in ten who do so on the quiet admit they hope to seduce them.

Social networking sites have made it easier to find and chat up an ex, with 74 per cent of women using Facebook to link up with an old lover.

Men, meanwhile, are much more likely to keep in touch through email (33 per cent) or text (31 per cent).

Psychologists have warned that putting old relationships on an imaginary pedestal and attempting to reignite them is unhealthy and can be emotionally damaging.

"Our first love tends to leave a big emotional imprint. It tends to be a powerful experience and the memory sticks with us as a reminder of more carefree, uninhibited days, psychologist Professor Cary Cooper, of Lancaster University, said.

"We forget the jealousy and the heartbreak and tend to view those days through rose-tinted spectacles. But it's a mistake to think that 10 or 20 years down the line it could ever be the same, as our circumstances change and we have greater responsibilities," Cooper was quoted by the paper as saying.

"It is escapism and avoidance and it's not healthy. We may have children and mortgages now and that isn't going to change just because we see an old flame again. Men are more likely to fall into this bracket because they are less monogamous and they have lower emotional intelligence than women," Cooper added.