YORKSHIRE folk buy the most sandwiches in the UK. Which is great news for Clare Prowse, who has opened a smart new deli in the heart of York.

At De'Clare in Lendal, you won't find the tried and tired tuna mayo on white. What you will find is an adventurous selection of fillings made with quality ingredients.

What's more, Clare insists on using the finest local fare. "Around 70 per cent of all our produce comes from North Yorkshire," she said.

The bread - multigrain, granary, Italian ciabbata and pumpkin and sunflower - all comes from The Bakery at Malton; the cheese selection features Fountain's Gold from Wensleydale and Yorkshire Fine Fettle feta from Thirsk; roast ham comes from Wensleydale and smoked fish from Blubberhouses.

Among Clare's best-selling sarnies are Serrano ham, manchego cheese and rocket; free-range egg mayo and watercress; Cornish brie, crispy pancetta and cranberry sauce; free-range chicken mayo with avocado and hummus with roast red peppers and black olives.

The stark white airy interior of the deli gives it an upmarket feel, but Clare has made sure her sarnies are competitively priced, starting at £2.

"Because we buy direct from the local suppliers - often from the farm - we cut out the middle man. My suppliers are very competitive with their prices, which means I can pass on the benefits to my customers," she said.

Canny Yorkshire consumers will be glad to hear that, especially as a survey revealed they spend an average of £114 a year on sandwiches - more than anywhere else in the country and twice as much as folk in the south west.

Next week is National Sandwich Week, an apt excuse to reflect on our love affair with the sarnie.

Most of us have heard the story of the origins of the sandwich, that it was invented by John Montague, 4th Earl of Sandwich, in the 18th century, as a quick meal, supposedly so as not to interrupt his gambling sessions.

Today, the Earl's invention forms the bread and butter of the British diet, particularly at lunchtime. The British Sandwich Association reckons we Brits ate almost 11 billion sandwiches last year. Seven in ten of these we make ourselves at home, but 1.6 billion are bought from shops such as Clare's, with the top-ten fillings rated as: chicken; cheese; ham; egg; tuna; prawn; bacon; breakfast; salmon and beef.

The Atkins diet and other low-carb regimes are the enemy of the British sarnie, but while Clare says sales of soups and salads are on the rise, our adoration of the sandwich is far from over.

She said: "We probably sell 50 per cent sandwiches, 50 per cent salads at lunchtime, but we do toasted sandwiches too. In the morning, our bacon sandwiches are really popular too.

"A lot of people don't want to eat wheat everyday, and a lot of people don't want to eat white, sliced bread. But sandwiches can be healthy, so long as you use a low-fat spread and limit the amount of mayo you use. A sandwich made with wholemeal bread, with some nice, lean ham and salad is a really nice, well-balanced meal."