British children have the most TVs

The research concludes that UK children are bigger TV watchers due to a combination of factors, including increased access to TVs in the home and a lack of things to do outside.

British children are also being kept inside due to parental fear over their safety.

Ms Bovill said of the findings: "Britain should rethink the place children have in our society.

"They seem unhappy with their lives but we don't provide enough facilities or support for them outside - and sometimes inside - the home."

New media

The research was carried out over 1997 and 1998 and looked at children's usage of all forms of media, be it TV, PC or book.

British children were shown to spend the most time a day - five hours - using media in general.

But they are also the most likely to say there is not enough for someone their age to do in their area.

Children in the UK were the most enthusiastic about PCs

When it came to TV, children across Europe seemed to enjoy similar programmes, with cartoons generally popular with the young.

Soaps, especially EastEnders, were popular with most ages and sexes but teenage boys proved to be heavily into sport.

But UK children came out on top for having their own individual sets.

Two thirds of children in the UK said they had a personal TV in their room.

British children also proved poor consumers of books, newspapers and magazines outside school.

Only 54% of UK children read books in their free time compared to 91% of children in The Netherlands.

In the UK, 33% of children read newspapers compared to 89% in Sweden.

British children were also the least likely to discuss books with their friends.

However, they did come out on top with a score of 83% for finding PCs and new media exciting.

PC access a problem

The average was 60% over the rest of Europe.

The problem is that fewer children in the UK are able to gain access to PCs.

They have the greatest use of PCs at school, with 87% saying they use them in their education.

The average figure was 61% but far fewer UK children were able to continue their interest after school - only 50% said they had access to a PC at home.

And in The Netherlands and Nordic countries, 84% of children continue their PC use when they get home, where they are the most likely to have access to the internet.