Children in British own more than £3 billion of unwanted toys while half of all seven to nine-year-olds think they get too many Christmas presents.

A new survey reveals four out of five children also admit they have several toys that never see the light of day while one in five have at least 20 that remain permanently in the toy box.

Abbey National has calculated that unused gifts are worth a massive £3.18 billion with each household owning an average of discarded toys and games worth £254.

The findings follow a survey of more than 900 children aged 7-16 to gauge their feelings towards Christmas spending.

Abbey National now hopes to use the study to boost its annual toy appeal for leading children's charity NCH.

The bank is hoping children will donate any new, unwanted toys to its appeal which will pass the gifts on to more needy children around the country.

The collection, at 64 of the bank's branches across the UK, will continue until mid-January. NCH will then distribute the toys to children who need them the most.