Shelter bank of mum and dad

are collectively paying out £2 billion a year to help their children on to the , says housing charity .

The ‘bank of and dad' contributes around £17,000 to help first-time buyers raise the £28,000 deposit typically needed, adding up to £2 billion of parental cash.

The yearly estimate is almost double the average of £1.1 billion spent annually by the on its affordable homes programme in England, according to the charity.

Despite the financial downturn, prices have remained by historic standards when compared with wages.

Shelter has unveiled an online film highlighting the UK's housing shortage. The work, created by Leagas Delaney, takes the form of a spoof news bulletin about how the “bank of mum and dad” is in crisis. The spot raises the point that, as house prices rise, parents will be less able to help their children get on the property ladder, and imagines a future where 40-year-olds still live with their mum and dad.

It was written by Adam Arber, art directed by Chris Felstead and directed by through Coy! Communications.

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