Chippenham residents who are having work done on their homes may want to note that “a cup of builder’s” is apparently no longer the favoured brew during a break - coffee is the cuppa that most workmen want.

According to a survey by Barratt and David Wilson Homes, who are currently building in the town at Birds Marsh View, the traditional mug of Rosy Lee is not the thirst-quencher that it used to be.

Ahead of National Tea Day this Thursday, the housebuilders polled their teams to discover what they preferred putting the kettle on for.

The survey revealed that 53 per cent of builders asked for coffee and 39 per cent wanted tea.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, just 2 per cent of workmen said they’d like a nice cup of fruit or herbal tea.

The construction teams were also asked about what biscuits they wanted to dunk into their brew, and chocolate digestives came out on top, with 24 per cent of the votes, closely followed by chocolate hobnobs with 20 per cent.

Scraping the bottom of the biscuit barrel are Oreos, with less than 1 per cent of votes.

Louise Ware, sales director at Barratt and David Wilson Homes South West, said: “A nice cup of tea is quintessentially British and helps power us through the work day or when important decisions need to be made. However, it now seems that coffee is overtaking tea when it comes to what builders like.”