ClickAJob News

The UK's financial worries are set to hit Christmas spending, a new survey claims, with almost a third of people planning to spend less.

An average of £2,114 was spent by British shoppers over the 2006 festive period, a 4.1 per cent fall from the 2005 total of £2,200.

And according to the second annual Cornhill Direct Cost of Christmas survey, credit concerns will lead to a further decrease in Christmas spending, with 30 per cent of people pledging to tighten their purse strings.

The insurance firm's poll revealed that an average of £1,059 was spent on Christmas presents in 2006, while British families spent £445.21 on festive food and £193.66 on yuletide parties.

Yet festive generosity leaves UK families mourning their Christmas cheer, it was found, with nearly a third of people going into debt every Christmas, ten per cent of whom are still paying off that amount the following year.

Simon Coughlin, a spokesman for Cornhill Direct, commented: "It seems extraordinary that one day in the calendar can have such an impact on people's finances."

Some 4,000 people were surveyed by the insurer, with Christmas shoppers owning up to having paid over £30 for wrapping paper and an average of £43.14 for crackers and advent calendars.

But as well as curbing their spending, Mr Coughlin advised shoppers to check their home insurance as the threat of burglaries rises over the holiday season.

He explained: "The concern for insurers is the potential for crime over the Christmas period. Official recorded crime statistics reveal an increase in domestic burglaries during the coldest and darkest months of the year.

"Householders should be even more security conscious than usual, keeping presents hidden away right up until Christmas Day."