THE most popular books to be borrowed from The Hive in Worcester over the past five years have been revealed.

David Walliams's The Ratburger is the most borrowed book by children as it was taken out more than 400 times in five years.

It was the most issued junior fiction title for two consecutive years in 2015 and 2016.

In second, third and fourth place were titles from former children’s laureate and author of the fictional Tracey Beaker stories, Dame Jacqueline Wilson.

The English writer has sold over 10 million books worldwide and many of her stories feature themes of mental health, bullying and separation.

For grown ups, JK Rowling remains the most popular author, despite her name being most associated with the popular children's Harry Potter series. The last Harry Potter book was published in 2007.

Her 2012 novel The Casual Vacancy is The Hive’s most borrowed book in adult fiction with over 600 issues in the last five years.

Mystery thriller novels prove to be popular among Worcester's adult readers with best-selling authors Lee Child, Gillian Flynn and Dan Brown coming second, third and fifth.

Lee Child’s book Never Go Back and Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, which have both been adapted into Hollywood blockbuster films, received over 500 issues and the latest Dan Brown novel Inferno had 456.

When it opened five years ago, The Hive was Britain's first joint university and public library.

Consequently, students have also been busy borrowing books and for four years running the most issued university title was How to Do Your Research: A Guide For Students by Gary Thomas, which is therefore the most borrowed university title over five years with 3,810 issues.

The Hive has issued almost 4.5 million books since it opened in 2012, an average of 2,474 a day.

One bookworm library member has borrowed almost 8,000 times in five years.

The highest ever number of loans in one day was 4,406 in October 2012.

Titles that have regularly come out on top in The Hive’s annual book issuing analysis include The Affair and Make Me, by Lee Child, and children’s classics such as Roald Dahl’s Danny the Champion of the World and Jaqueline Wilson’s Emerald Star and Sapphire Battersea.

Janine Downes, Library Manager at The Hive said: “These figures for book borrowing give a genuine feel for the books that are going to hang around and become classics.

"Book sales tend to give you a snap shot of the titles that have received good publicity and therefore have a flood of sales.

"Whether a title stands the test of time in a library is a true marker for whether it has longevity and shows the signs of a masterpiece.”