Brits stash £4.6 billion at home

Brits have a staggering £4.6 billion of cash lying around in their homes, according to a shocking new survey.

More than three quarters of people admit to stashing cash in their house, with the average Brit hiding £127. But a more affluent eight per cent have anything in between £300 and £1000 in the house at any time.

And while most people use drawers, tins and pockets to store the money, one respondent even uses the FREEZER to store their hard-earned cash.

But the poll by insurance firm Cornhill Direct revealed that a third feel uneasy about keeping large sums of money in their house.

Almost one in ten have even had some of their hidden stash go missing.

Despite this, 40 per cent of the 1,500 people polled think storing money in the house is a good idea and a staggering 45 per cent reckon the recent difficulties at Northern Rock will mean more people will ditch the bank and keep hold of their cash.

More than four per cent of the people who stash the cash say it is because they are fed up with bank charges and also worry about something happening to their bank.

Another 13 per cent keep the money there as a reserve fund and 45 per cent like having it at home so they have it ready to pay for something in cash.

But a lazy one in ten Brits admit it is just because they can’t be bothered to keep going to their bank or building society to withdraw the money.

Mark Bishop, a spokesman for Cornhill Direct, said: "Our home contents policy provides protection for money kept in the house, but it is never a good idea to keep large sums in the house."

Some of the cash stashers are especially secret about their hiding places as even their own partners don’t know about the money.

Although 58 per cent say their partners do know about it, almost 36 per cent say they have a little stash that only they know about.

Top 10 hiding places for cash

1. Drawers
2. In a tin
3. In pockets
4. In a cupboard
5. In a safe
6. Hidden on shelves in a wardrobe
7. Under the bed
8. In a flower pot
9. Under the mattress
10. Under the floorboards