The decade where households have saved £800bn

Some 802bn of new savings was accumulated in deposit accounts, pensions and shares between 2000 and the end of 2009, according to high street bank Lloyds TSB.

The figure was 46 per cent more than people saved during the 1990s, although the rise fell to 14 per cent once the impact of inflation was stripped out.

The increase, which is the equivalent of 30,105 per household, was driven by a steep jump in the amount of money people saved in deposit accounts, partly due to the rising popularity of tax-free ISAs, which were launched in 1999.

People collectively saved 558bn in savings accounts between 2000 and the end of 2009, with deposits accounting for 70 per cent of total new savings made during the decade.

But people sold more shares than they bought during the 10 years, with the amount of money invested in equities falling by 190bn during the period.

Savings levels in shares was negative in seven out of the last 10 years, with 2008 seeing the biggest outflow of 82bn.

However, the amount of money people held in shares actually increased by 11bn in 2009 on the back of the stock market recovery.

The group said 2006 was the strongest year for saving across all categories, with the amount of money people had in deposit accounts and investments rising by 134bn.

But savings levels fell steeply when the economic downturn hit, with people setting aside just 10bn during 2008 and 41bn in 2009, both well down on the average for the decade of 80bn a year.

The fall in the amount people saved in deposit accounts was particularly marked during 2009, when just 14bn was saved in this way, the lowest level since 1994.

The group said the drop was probably due to the low returns the accounts were paying after the Bank of England base rate was slashed to 0.5 per cent.

However, there are signs that savings levels are recovering, with households setting aside 20bn in savings accounts, pensions and investments, during the first quarter of this year, more than twice the 9bn they saved during the final three months of 2009.

Suren Thiru, economist at Lloyds TSB, said: "This has been a significant decade for savers in the UK.

"The substantial rise of new household savings over the past 10 years reflects the extent to which savers have worked hard to build their nest egg."