Early bird Lucy is a morning star (From Penarth Times)

Early bird Lucy is a morning star

HTV newsreader Lucy Cohen is an exception to new research that reveals the Welsh are not morning people.

Penarth-based Lucy has recently joined Red Dragon FM's breakfast show and she says she's on top form in the mornings.

"When the alarm goes off I do groan inwardly but after five minutes I'm up and showered and I'm quite a morning person. I am quite bright and breezy," she says.

The survey, recently conducted by Kelloggs, found that three out of ten of us have trouble getting up, which was five per cent more than Londoners.

However southerners scored better than northerners in the poll with Wales, Scotland and Yorkshire dreading the alarm clock.

Since joining the breakfast show team Lucy, who now has to be up at 6am, found that she feels more alert earlier in the day.

"Since getting up at 6am I know I have to be work alive and on form and I almost find it easier to get up whereas getting up at 8am for HTV I was peaking later in the day."

The study also found differences between the sexes, showing that when we oversleep men are more concerned with having breakfast compared to women who are worried they won't have enough time to get ready.

Lucy, who is due to marry TV presenter Rhodri Owen next year, added: "I'm fine once I get going and have a cup of tea."

The research revealed that 34 percent of men would rather stay in the office later in the evening just to gain a few more minutes in bed, compared to 27 percent of women. And three percent of men and one per cent of women polled said they would even take a pay cut to avoid an early start.