Dressed to impress, teens who cost £700 to kit out

Teenagers kit themselves out in clothes and accessories worth more than £700, a survey has found.

The average youngster leaves the house in an outfit worth £229.54, jewellery bought for £125 and a £75 watch.

Mobile phones, MP3 players and wallets add another £300.

The poll of 2,500 parents showed the younger generation have a distinct taste for the finer things in life.

Although not necessarily choosing designer items and clothes, they tend to wear the very best from the high street.

They skulk around in trainers or shoes worth at least £64.49, and shrug themselves into a jacket or coat valued at £74.77.

Their jeans will hang down around their hips for just under £50 while their sweatshirt or T-shirt will be worth a slouchy £40.42.

At least one mobile phone bought for £127.58 will be clamped to their ear and they will plug themselves into an MP3 player for roughly £150.

They also carry a wallet or purse worth £32.80, stuffed with just under £30 in cash, according to the survey.

Although keen to own the latest must-have accessories, many teenagers can't seem to keep them safe.

Three in ten regularly lose valuable items such as mobile phones, MP3 players, watches, wallets and digital cameras to either carelessness or thieves.

A spokesman for Cornhill Direct, the insurance firm which carried out the survey, said: "Teenagers like to step out in the latest fashion gear and carry around the latest gadgets and gizmos. The results of this poll show just how vulnerable young teenagers in particular can be to theft.

"Parents should certainly try to prevent them leaving home with too much expensive kit on them."