manchester

christmas

Average UK child gets £175 of toys - survey

Britain's children will be unwrapping toys collectively worth £2 billion on Christmas day, with each child receiving around £175 worth of play things, research has showed.

The average person will spend £365 on presents this year, with around 47% of this being spent on toys, according to internet bank Egg.

But spending on children isn't confined to Christmas, with the average child having around £715 worth of toys and games bought for them each year.

The group said this meant that by the time a child reaches 16 they will have accumulated more than £11,000 worth of toys.

Children in the North East are set to have the most spent on them this year at an average of £255 each, followed by those in Scotland at £224.

But children in Yorkshire will receive only around £145 worth of toys, while those in the East will not fare much better at £152.

Mark Nancarrow, chief financial officer at Egg, said: "Keeping up with the latest trends in kids' toys can be a costly affair and this is no more prevalent than at Christmas.

"Peer pressure to spend at this time of year is enormous, particularly from children. Better to exercise a bit of caution on what you spend now rather than face a financial hangover in the New Year."

:: Tickbox questioned 2,346 people during November.