London and the South East were the most expensive for care

The Daycare Trust says costs nationally rose 5% last year. Inflation is 2.1%.

The average cost of a full-time nursery place for a child under the age of two in England was �159 per week.

The most expensive care was in London and the South East, where typical costs ranged between �161 and �202 a week, and some parents were paying �750.

The cheapest childcare was in the West Midlands, the Daycare Trust said.

It also said that the cost of childcare in out-of-school clubs had risen by six times more than the rate of inflation to an average of �43 a week.

Its survey showed the basic fees charged by childcare providers, and did not include the help available from the government through tax credits, childcare vouchers and free nursery places when a child is three.

The trust said that Britons paid more for childcare than elsewhere in Europe, and many did not claim tax credits and vouchers, which can lower costs.

Daycare Trust joint chief executive Alison Garnham said: "Claiming tax credits - which can cover up to 80% of childcare costs - and vouchers from your employer can cut the cost of childcare considerably.

"But even so, parents in the UK are still paying a bigger share - around 70% on average - of this spiralling cost than their neighbours in Europe, where the average is nearer 30%."

She called on the government to invest more in childcare.

Average costs in Wales had increased more quickly over the past 12 months than those in England and Scotland, the trust said, rising 8%.

And Scottish fees fell slightly, with a typical nursery place costing �141 a week this year.

AVERAGE WEEKLY CHILDCARE COSTS IN BRITAIN