Parents of young children are having to fork out millions of pounds to repair damage to their homes caused by their little tearaways, it has been claimed.

According to a report by Abbey, British adults spend over £552 million putting their homes right after their children have damaged them.

It found that children aged between one and five years of age cause the most damage, with boys twice as destructive as girls.

Tony Beckwith, head of Santander Insurance UK, said: "Dealing with the damage caused by children can be inconvenient, costly and cause unwanted tension if people do not have the appropriate level of insurance cover."

Mr Beckwith urged parents to ensure they have adequate home insurance cover if they are looking after children over the summer holidays.

Home insurance provider Direct Line recently reported that Britons spend approximately £3,299 on decorating and making home improvements over the course of the last three years.

With such large investments, the firm said taking out adequate insurance against damage to home contents is an important consideration.