Britons are being forced to use hard-earned savings to meet the rising cost of living, according to research out today from Abbey. It found that, on average ISA savers have withdrawn £579 each from the tax-free nest eggs, which equates to 26% of the average ISA subscription for 2007/2008.

Almost a third (31%) of those questioned said that it was day-to-day costs that had forced them to make withdrawals, while a further 15% specifically cited bills such as mortgage repayments or utility bills as the reason for pulling out their cash.

Worringly, other respondents blamed 'spending urges' as a reason for removing savings. A quarter (26%) said that their ISA money had gone towards a luxury item, such as a holiday or car purchase, while a further 8% said that it was a high street shopping trip which had parted them from their cash.

A generous 13% of those questioned had put their money towards helping friends and family with their finances, while almost a quarter (24%) said that their savings had to be called upon to for an unanticipated cost, such as an emergency home repair.

Reza Attar-Zadeh, director of savings and investments at Abbey, said: "With the cost of living increasing, a significant number of us are being forced to use our savings to meet the rising costs. You never know when you're going to need to fall back on your savings, and in this respect dipping into them to meet bills such as gas bills is no bad thing.

"On the other hand, dipping in to your ISA savings could prove costly in the long term. With a Cash ISA allowance of £3,600 per tax year any withdrawals made cannot be replaced, so that part of your allowance would be lost forever. If you're saving towards a goal such as home deposit or looking to maximise the amount of cash you have put away for retirement, then the advice must be to try and reduce your outgoings rather than dip into your ISA pot."

ISAs are held by 41% of the adult population, and are one of the most popular ways to save, with only instant access savings accounts (74%) proving more popular.

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