first born receive deposit helpElder sons and daughters are more likely to benefit financially despite seemingly being less spoilt than their younger siblings from a young age, it has been suggested.

British parents are more likely to give their eldest children money for a deposit on their first home, with the average donation being £3,346, according to research by Abbey Mortgages.

Some 17 per cent of first-borns are given money towards their first home from their parents, whereas 12 per cent of second-born children and just nine per cent of third-born kids receive such financial assistance.

Parents spend more hours - an average of 31 - with their eldest children in helping them to choose their first property, the study found.

"In recent years, property price growth has been so strong that even a gap of two or three years can mean a big financial difference when it comes to raising a deposit, even if the children choose to live in similar areas," commented Nici Audhlam-Gardiner, head of mortgages at Abbey.

But the likely flattening of house price growth in 2008 could mean that financial gifts from parents to their siblings begin to even out a bit, she added.

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