Ageism is the most common form of discrimination, and the most unlikely to go unchallenged, a report by a public health charity has found.

The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) is calling for action to tackle ageist attitudes and undo the media clichés that promote them.

Ageist attitudes across 12 main areas of life were evaluated, finding that almost a third of the public believe that loneliness is a part of growing old and a quarter of 18-34 year olds think it is normal for older people to be unhappy and depressed.

Two in five 18-24 year olds believe there is no way to escape dementia as you age.

RSPH are calling for 10 actions, including an end to the use of the term 'anti-ageing' in the cosmetics and beauty industries, bringing nurseries, youth clubs, and care homes under the same roof and for Facebook to include 'age' as a protected characteristic in its community standards on hate speech.