A STUDY into online dating pictures has found some surprising trends among Oxford singles.

The research, by datingscout.co.uk, claims 87 per cent of pictures including alcoholic drinks come from gay daters, while 86 per cent of hiking shots come from the city's women.

And, of all the pictures assessed nationwide, 14 per cent featuring deer hunting and 20 per cent featuring raspberries came from Oxford, researchers said.

Celia Schweyer, one of the main authors of the study of more than more than 22 million shots worldwide, explained: "People use all kinds of pictures in online dating, some being really good and others, let's say, rather questionable."

She continued: "We noticed that younger men like show off lots of sports or social escapades, while the older ones tend to display the achievements of their lives; vintage cars, boats, and champagne bottles.

"For women, the younger generation focuses on selfies, party and travel pictures while the older one prefers culture and nature."

The study found that 61.5 per cent of Oxford daters are female and the average age of an online dater is 26.

It also claimed that all the pictures of people dressed as comic book characters came from men.

Other eyebrow raising facts included how 77 per cent of photos including soldier were found on gay profiles, while 83 per cent of pictures involving swimwear came from women. Of those posting pictures of musicians, 77 per cent were posted by people with degrees.