The summer holidays are undoubtedly a challenging time for parents, who have a few weeks to entertain their children while also juggling work and childcare.

For some parents the stress of it all could prompt a decision to leave children home on their own, but the NSPCC is urging mums and dads to think carefully before leaving their children home alone.

The request comes after the charity reported a 21% rise in correspondence about children being left unsupervised during the holidays last year.

The charity published data revealing that 5,737 calls and emails were made to its helpline in 2018-19 about the issue.

Nearly a third of those calls and emails were made during the summer of 2018, the data revealed.

The charity believes the rise in the number of children being left alone could in part be explained by “increasing childcare pressures” parents face during the summer months, with it now being the biggest cost for families after housing.

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