Most women in Britain own more than six handbags.

My wife Maria has 17.

One in eight women say they own more than 25, and 4% say they have more than 50.

Most claim that a handbag is an investment, although how that works, I have no idea. Do they sub-let them? Rent them out to friends for special occasions? Do they have a handbag portfolio with which they can negotiate a loan to buy a house?

The figures were discovered as a result of a survey carried out for the Betta Living fitted bedroom retailer.

And it gets worse.

Average amount spent on handbags a year is £550. That’s close to 200 pints of bitter. If you want to be sensible, it could pay the grocery bill for a good few weeks.

There was one aspect of the survey that made me recoil in shock: a third of blokes own a manbag and 30% have five.

Owning a single manbag is acceptable in certain circumstances.

I have one I use for passports and travel documents. I even loaned it to a friend, who could be described as a Yorkshire traditionalist, when he went on holiday to Mexico.

He was worried it might dilute his image and clash with his flat cap, but he took it anyway and found it a boon. What’s more amazing, he brought it back.

But owning five seems to be extreme. Until I realised I had six.

I have a backpack, which is a fashion item that would disintegrate if taken on a long hike in the rain, a computer bag, a dinky little bag small enough to attach to the belt which I’ve never had the guts to wear, a briefcase and a messenger satchel.

To my chagrin, I have a compulsion for such items and often find myself mysteriously attracted to displays in stores. It could be worse. It could be lingerie.

I would have more but my daughters occasionally help themselves on the grounds that if it isn’t nailed down, it’s available. Daughters are like that.

The strange thing is, I rarely use a bag. I prefer to carry wallet and phone in my pocket. Maybe my collection qualifies as a portfolio?

Maybe they could become an investment?

Barry Rourke from Better Living said women keep bags under the bed, on top of wardrobes, in cupboards or in the loft.

Consequently, handbag storage was one of the most requested items in fitted bedroom furniture. Along with shoe storage.

Now don’t get me started on shoes. My wife has a zillion pairs.

If I open a cupboard without due care and attention, I can be knocked to the ground by tumbling footwear.

They don’t make under-bed storage units big enough, although there could be one solution.

Why not stuff the shoes inside the bags? It would at least solve part of the problem.