FIRST-time buyers are scrimping, saving and borrowing vast sums of money from parents to get on the property ladder, a survey has found.

Just less than a quarter of people buying their first home said they could afford to buy on their own, while 57 per cent said they planned to purchase property with their partner, Alliance and Leicester said.

About eight per cent said they could only afford to buy with help from their parents, while five per cent said they planned to rent out a room to make ends meet.

Nearly one in five will be relying on their parents for their deposit, with ten per cent being lent the money and eight per cent being given it.

Andrew Potter, associate partner at JWW Wood estate agents, in Darlington, said: "I think people have always borrowed from their parents to buy houses - it is certainly not a new phenomena.

"I think the difference is that they are borrowing much higher sums than they used to, because of the housing market.

"More parents with very young children are also buying properties to rent them out, as an investment for their future.

"But buy-to-let in itself is pushing up prices even further, particularly in the lower end of the market where first-time buyers are more likely to be looking."