Savings ‘raided to top up summer spending’

Almost two-fifths of women (37 per cent) said they had plundered their accounts, compared with less than one in three (32 per cent) men, according to research by Halifax.

Holidays topped the list of specific goals that people were saving towards, followed by adding to their retirement fund or saving for a deposit to buy a house.

However, extra holiday costs were also blamed as the most common reason why people had to unexpectedly dip into their funds.

In every region across Britain apart from London, savers have taken out more cash than they put in over the last three months, the study found.

More than three quarters (77 per cent) of people said they had managed to add something to their nest eggs since April, placing £829 into their accounts on average.

However, 35 per cent had also taken money out over the same period, with £1,824 withdrawn on average.

Nine out of 10 people living in the North East managed to put some money aside in the last three months, the greatest proportion of any region, while those living in the east of England were least likely to save.

Wales was the area where most people were likely to have dipped into their savings at 47 per 
cent, with savers raiding almost four times the average amount saved.

Savings rates have plummeted in the low interest rate environment and experts have said the situation has been made worse by a Government scheme called Funding for Lending, which is aimed at helping borrowers by giving lenders access to cheap finance. This has made banks less reliant on having to attract savers’ deposits.