Parents fear youngsters will be stuck in the nest

One in four parents with young families expects their children to be in their 30s before they can afford to buy their own home, says a survey.

They fear rising house prices will leave their children unable to get a foot on the property ladder any earlier.

With the average house price topping £200,000, one in seven parents with a child under ten are so concerned about the situation that they have started a "home fund" to help their offspring later in life.

The survey of 2,000 parents was published by the Yorkshire Bank after the number of first-time buyers fell to its lowest level since records began.

The property information firm Hometrack said young people who did not get any financial help from their parents accounted for just 15 per cent of all buyers last year.

Gary Lumby, head of retail at Yorkshire Bank, predicted that many parents would solve the problem by "downsizing" their own home then using a large chunk of the money made on the deal to help their children buy their first property.