Housing costs force sharing

One in 25 Britons has moved in with a partner sooner than they had wanted to because of high housing costs, research shows..

Meanwhile, one in 14 people said that they had been forced to live with an ex after the relationship had ended because they could not afford to be apart, the charity Shelter revealed.

The study found that people aged 18-30 were twice as likely as the population generally to have rushed into moving in with someone to save money, although one in 20 aged 31 to 44 also said they had done this.

Rising rents, food costs and energy bills have all ramped up the pressure on household living costs in recent months as wages have stagnated.

More than 5,000 adults across Britain took part in the research.