More than a fifth of Britons claim to be literally addicted to saving money, according to a new survey.

In NS&I Quarterly Savings report published today, it is also revealed that nearly 40 per cent of Britons get nervous if they don’t save as much as they wanted to.

Almost half of all respondents said they worried if they wasted money or overspent on their budgets.

And 42 per cent said it was a cause of concern if they went into their savings funds in order to make an unplanned purchase.

Dax Harkins, senior savings strategist at NS&I, said the report "challenges the bleak view of Britain as a nation obsessed with spending and debt".

On the contrary, he said, it demonstrates that "there is a distinct group of British savers who are not only in the black but committed to saving every little penny".

Savings and current account customers may be interested to know that the Bank of England has decided to freeze the interest rate at 5.75 per cent this month.

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