DVDs are often sold illegally in pubs and bars

Almost one in eight people quizzed said they had bought items on the black market, spending an average of �168.

Two-thirds of these people added that they would willingly buy stolen goods.

"Millions of Britons may be unwittingly fuelling a cycle of theft," Vicky Emmott, spokeswoman for Halifax Home Insurance, said.

People were most likely to buy easy-to-carry goods like DVDs, CDs and videos, followed by clothing, mobile phones and jewellery - many of which are either counterfeit or stolen.

Men were more than twice as likely to buy black market items, compared to women.

The Halifax questioned more than 1,000 people for the survey.