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Once the bastion of the British summer holiday, the postcard's days look numbered as people send their greetings home by mobile phone instead.

A survey has shown the number of cards sent by holidaymakers has fallen by a million every year for the past five years.

It is being blamed on the boom in mobile technology, allowing texts and emails to be sent from anywhere - the beach, bar or rollercoaster.

Half a century ago, the risque images by the king of the saucy postcard, Donald McGill, from Littlehampton, sold in their millions.

No seaside holiday would have been complete without a note home backed by one of McGill's drawings.

At one stage, his saucy postcards were considered too racy and were banned by the leaders of Eastbourne, who were outraged by his naughty pictures .

This did nothing to stem the demand for the saucy drawings, accompanied by a cheeky joke or sexual innuendo.

Postcards penned on holiday became a must to send to friends and relatives and the catchphrase 'Wish you were here' became a national institution.

Now the tradition is in danger of being stamped out, replaced by the quick and easy technology of the mobile.

Holidaymakers no longer have to sift through scores of photographs, arty pictures of the beach or saucy pics at the shops to post home - they can send a message while they laze around on the beach at the touch of a button.

They could even send saucy images of themselves if they wanted, as new picture and video messaging takes off.

The Royal Mail delivers 25 million postcards every year. In 1998 it was 30 million and the numbers are falling.

Text messages are instant, there is no danger of them getting lost in the post and the receiver can reply within seconds.

Saucy postcards can still be found in the shops of Brighton but their appeal is waning, according to traders.

Jokey Wish You Were Here cartoons are being replaced by Look At Our Pier pictures as vendors cash in on the West Pier plight.

One trader at beach shop Bedazzled on the Lower Promenade said: "I find that the funnies are mostly bought by collectors but otherwise they have dried up.

"The West Pier has taken over as the popular choice. It's a bit sad really, cashing in on the pier falling down."

John Stephenson, manager of Albion Gifts on the beach at the bottom of West Street, said his postcard sales had halved in recent years and agreed it was probably because of technological advances such as mobile phone text and email.

He said: "I've been here for seven years and over the last two or three years I have noticed a drop in postcard sales, even though the prices haven't changed in all that time.

"Where I once spent about £1,000 a year ordering postcards, I now spend about £500.

"Profits from postcards are not huge but I keep them cheap because it encourages people to come in and then they might find something else they like."

Not everyone thinks modern technology is the way forward when it comes to sending greetings home.

Judy Bowyer, 73, from Kent, said: "I've always sent postcards and I always will. I've got a mobile phone but I don't like texting because the buttons are too small. Anyway I like it when someone tells me they got my postcard two weeks after I've come back and told them all about my holiday - it reminds me of the lovely time I had."

Student Dave Balcaroy, 24, said: "I never send postcards anyway - it's a bit of a girls' thing isn't it? But when I went to Spain I suppose I did send more texts than usual."

John Bateman, of the postcard traders association, said: "As people get used to emailing we now find it an effort to write a postcard, find a stamp and get to a post box. Text messages are killing the careful crafting of the written word."