Britain's children are collectively earning nearly £700 million a year carrying out odd jobs and running errands, a survey showed yesterday.

Around 27 per cent of young people aged between 11 and 18 regularly earn money doing odd jobs, bringing in an average of £45.60 a month each, according to high street bank Abbey. Girls are more likely to be earning money from carrying out chores than boys, with 30 per cent of girls earning money in this way, compared with 24 per cent of boys.

But despite this, boys tend to earn more, bringing in an average of £55 a month compared with girls' £38.

Babysitting is the most popular way for young people to earn extra money, with around half of under-18s doing some babysitting, earning an average of £16.96 for a four-hour shift.

Car washing was the second most popular job, with 15 per cent of children earning extra cash in this way, followed by doing the washing up and tidying the house, both at 9 per cent.

Other things children do to boost their income include mowing the lawn, walking the dog, vacuuming the house, doing a paper round and buying and selling things at school.

Steve Shore, head of Abbey Banking, said: "This is a great way for parents to show their children the value of money and teach valuable financial lessons." [2022]ICM questioned 400 11 to 18-year-olds during October.