ONE in five Britons have stumbled across savings they had forgotten they had, with some people finding a four or even five-figure sum.

Around 21% of people said in a survey that they had found money they had forgotten about, with 6% coming across an old children’s savings account and 7% finding cash in an old money box.

But an absent- minded 8% of people admitted they had found forgotten savings in a deposit account, bond or ISA which they took out as an adult, according to Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks.

The majority of people did not find very much money, with 25% finding less than £10 and 24% finding less than £50, while 17% found up to £100.

At the other end of the scale, 1% of people were reunited with more than £20,000 and the same proportion found £10,000 that they had forgotten they had. A further 5% of people found up to £1,000 and 2% found a £5,000 sum.

Around 45% of people said they still kept some of their money in an old money box, while 18% kept cash in a kitchen drawer.

One in 10 people admitted that they did not trust themselves with money and handed over their savings to family or friends to look after on their behalf.

The average person currently saves just over £1,300 a year.