Britons give less to charity

Financially squeezed Britons scaled down their charity donations last year, typically giving £186.15 per person across 2011, a study has found.

The sum is 12 per cent lower than the amount given per person in 2010, according to Investec Bank, which carried out the research.

Scots gave below the British average – with the average total donation amounting to £147.49 per year.

A quarter of those surveyed in the UK donated less last year than in 2010. Only one in ten gave more generously. The study also found that one in 20 people who gave to charities in 2010 gave nothing at all last year.