According to the movingimproving index carried out by Alliance & Leicester, mums and dads are contributing an average of 21,314 pounds to help their offspring purchase their first home - a rise of 3,637 pounds from the study carried out during the same time last year. With increasing house prices, the hangover of student debts and rising living costs, a increasing number of older Britons are dipping into their savings in a bid to aid the buying of their child's first home.

Currently one in five parents have already used money they had previously set aside for themselves, with about the same level (22 per cent) prepared to go into their accounts when their children are ready to purchase a home. Overall, the typical first-time buyer property was reported to currently cost 162,055 pounds.

And despite only 18 per cent of first-time buyers having asked, or are intending to ask, their mums and dads for assistance, expectations of providing help are putting parents under financial pressure. Over a third (34 per cent) of respondents claimed that they would feel guilty if they were unable to put up the cash required to help their kids get a home.

Meanwhile, 48 per cent of fathers saw it as a parental responsibility to help their children. However, some nine per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds are shown to be prepared to ask a grandparent for a financial "leg up" on to the housing ladder - if their parents are unable to provide sufficient assistance.

However, the level of those hoping to financially support their children in London was revealed to be higher than the national average. Just over half (52 per cent) of parents living in the city are prepared to help their children meet the financial costs of "flying the nest" and getting on the housing ladder. Meanwhile, about a third (37 per cent) of those in the capital would feel guilty if they were not able to offer monetary assistance to their offspring.

Stephen Leonard, director of mortgages for Alliance & Leicester, said: "It has become increasingly common for parents to offer financial assistance to their children when they come to buy their first home. Rising house prices mean first-time buyers have to find bigger deposits to secure their property, with many having to fork out for stamp duty as well. This means extra funding from parents can often make the difference between renting or being able to get on to that first rung of the property ladder." He added that as many parents may have a "strong urge" to financially support their grown-up children, taking out a buy-to-let mortgage or loaning them money "could benefit their own future financial security as well".

However with a recent Stroud & Swindon study suggesting that the typical first-time buyer home could reach the 1 million pound mark by 2024, consumers could well find themselves developing financial difficulties as they get behind with mortgage repayments, with bad credit loans a possible option to alleviate such struggles. As a result, sales director Paul Chafer advised lenders to consider lending with care as "it is pointless simply increasing income multiples if this is going to result in consumers taking on levels of debt they cannot service".