Children more likely to recognise Pikachu than garden birds

Research by a tourism board into youngsters’ knowledge of nature found that 86 per cent could recognise the animated creature, but only 61 per cent knew what a sparrow looked like.

And 42 per cent said they see more wildlife on TV than they do in real life.

Fewer than half of Yorkshire kids had climbed a tree, compared to 73 per cent of their parents, and most spend less than four hours a week playing outside. Half had never built a den and one in three had never made a sandcastle.

63 per cent have never been rockpooling, with a quarter admitting they didn’t know what a rockpool was.

The study was commissioned by Isle of Man Tourism to encourage families to visit the island.