Housewives in North Yorkshire have been "valued" at almost £18,000 a year.

Figures compiled for the new Value Of A Mum study have calculated the amount an employer would have to pay the average mother whose job is to clean, wash, feed and mollycoddle.

Insurance firm Legal and General interviewed over 500 adults on their involvement in household work such as cooking, cleaning, ironing and changing nappies.

The research shows that women dedicate more than double the amount of time as men to running the household - 67 hours a week compared to 31 hours for men. The value of these hours of work adds up to almost £380 per week.

In North Yorkshire, this would equate to a regional average of £336 a week and an annual salary of £17,472.

Full-time working women do not escape the chores when they get home, as they still carry out 56 hours of household jobs per week.

As well as these key findings, the survey also covers parents' attitudes to what society could do to improve life for families.

Mothers call for more workplace crches and job sharing, as well as curbs on violence, bad language and sex in the media.

Legal and General has conducted its Value Of A Mum research since the early 1980s to highlight the value of unpaid work to the household budget and to ensure that mums have adequate life insurance, which should be 15 times annual earnings.

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