It costs parents £17,677 to get their children to fly the nest, according to findings by Alliance & Leicester Mortgages.

Almost half (46%) of parents planning to help out their children believe that buying a roof over their children’s heads is still part of their parental duties.
Parents intend to help their children onto the property ladder by giving them an average of £17,677 – the equivalent of paying the deposit of an average first time buyer property with some to spare.

One in six parents are prepared to give or lend their offspring over £30,000 to wave their last parental duty goodbye. A third (34%) of parents would feel guilty if they didn’t fork out financially.