Hartlepool's evening meal is officially teatime as hundreds vote in our poll

We decided to answer the age-old question once and for all and asked you: “An evening meal has different meanings across the UK, with half of people calling it 'dinner', and almost as many describing it as 'tea', according to a new study. What's it called in your house?”

More than 470 people voted and the answer was a landslide, with a whopping 90 per cent (quite rightly) saying the answer was ‘Tea.’

Comments on our Facebook page left little doubt where Hartlepool’s loyalties lie.

Lizzie Mirza said: “Had this very conversation with my daughter yesterday. She’s gone to uni in Liverpool, lots of northerners and welsh and they all say tea.”

Janet Harris added: “We always had breakfast, dinner and tea, supper if you were lucky,” while Ellie Marie Bradshaw was in full ‘send ‘em back’ mode: “People who call TEA time dinner are from another planet and need to travel back there.”

Philly Noble said: “It’s always called tea,” and Liam Hanson was having no truck with ‘lunch’ either: “Breakfast, dinner, tea, then supper if you're over 70.”

Kath Gowland, Allison Hart, Kelly-Ann Gowland and Samantha Horsley didn’t waste their words: “Tea,” they all commented.

Ian Snellin was the only person who came to the defence of the ‘D’ word (and that was because he’s not from round these parts): “Tea is around 4-5pm,dinner is after 6 but I’m a southerner,” he admitted.