FLATCAPS and ferrets may have stolen the show at last week's Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate, but a new survey has exploded the stereotype of the traditional Yorkshireman.

A glass of sparkling mineral water, enjoyed at an award-winning restaurant, has now apparently replaced a pint down the Royal British Legion before a snack from the local chippy for today's Yorkshireman.

This is the latest finding from a survey carried out by Yorkshire Butter to put the Broad Acres on the map.

"Folk in the county are, in fact, a bunch of sophisticated softies with a penchant for holidays in the Med, skincare regimes and trendy baseball caps," said a spokesman.

The most startling findings are perhaps that more than nine out of ten men claim to regularly cleanse, tone and moisturise, while not a single one could be found who admitted to owning that most Yorkshire of pets, the humble ferret.

"Ferrets are out as pets," said the spokesman.

The survey, part of the company's Pride Of Yorkshire campaign has discovered a very different side to the county from the stereotypical uncultured yob.

A week in the sun has replaced the cheesy holiday camp for most families, and taking Shep to the local sheepdog trials is no more.

Out goes the flat cap, with the baseball cap coming to the head of the queue for all but a stolid six per cent of Yorkshiremen.

And the image of the tight-fisted scrooge is going the same way, as now 60 per cent of men claim to donate to good causes.

But while many tastes have become more cosmopolitan, Yorkshire people still identify with down-to-earth folk, with cricketing legend Dickie Bird and Coronation Street battle-axe Vera Duckworth leading the way.

TV presenter and proud Yorkshireman Richard Whiteley supported the campaign to promote the Yorkshire region around the country.

He said: "The survey confirms what we in Yorkshire have always believed - that we are as sophisticated and forward-thinking as the rest of the country.

"I've certainly never owned a ferret, and I haven't got a single flat cap in my wardrobe."

Updated: 08:35 Friday, July 18, 2003