Doting grandparents are saving their children more than �1 billion a year in babysitting fees, according to a survey published today.

Almost 50% of the 1,001 grandparents surveyed for the Abbey National bank said they regularly spend time with their grandchildren.

The poll found that grandparents spent at least 40 days every year looking after younger grandchildren - those under 12 - with grandma taking on the lion's share of the work.

Cost of being a grandparent

82% of children are cared for by a grandparent 46% of children are looked after by a grandparent 40 days a year are spent looking after grandchildren Average rate for babysitting �2,97 per hour

On average she sits with them for an hour-and-a-half each occasion - with granddad managing only an average 79 minutes.

The survey compared the figures with other answers given by respondents recalling the time they spent with their own grandparents.

Only 6% of the grandparents asked said that their grandparents would regularly spend time with them.

Janet O'Connor, Abbey National's Retail Marketing Director, said: "It seems grandparents are stepping up their stakes in the babysitting market not a moment too soon... with more mums than ever before working".

But grandparents are being paid in kind. They're almost twice as likely to be taken on holiday or given financial help than grandparents who fail to lend a helping hand.

Ms O'Connor added: "Grandparents are becoming an integral part of the modern family and their role looks set to grow ever more important in the 21st century.

"The aim for today's empty-nesters is to find a balance between an ongoing commitment to family life and seizing the opportunity for self-fulfilment through wider interests and activities - and they seem to be doing just that."