According to Abbey bank, those parents who go out to work will end up spending up to �1,200 on care arrangements and another �1,200 to keep them occupied.

Only a year ago over 50% of parents said they would use their leave allowance to look after their children.

But this has fallen dramatically to just a quarter of parents this summer.

Planning ahead

More than half of those parents questioned by Abbey plan to take the cheaper option by asking family and friends to take care of their offspring and keep them out of trouble.

Others will simply cut down the hours they work or send their children to a nursery, while a minority will hire a nanny or au pair.

But the majority of parents are failing to plan ahead and most of the money to pay for childcare will come from credit cards or out of their current accounts.

After questioning 2,000 people in the survey, Abbey concluded that the best thing for parent to do in future was open a savings account.

"The most important thing to do is save money throughout the year to help pay for the extra cost of the school summer holiday," said Abbey customer director Angus Porter.

"Putting just a small amount aside each month into a savings account should make the financial burden of the school holiday much easier to bear."