One in 12 properties bought in the UK is partly funded by a gift from a buyer's friend or family member, a study has found.

Conveyancer My Home Move said that of 1.125m house purchases over the past year, 90,900 involved a deposit that had been given to the buyer by someone else.

This is an increase of 29.6pc from a year earlier, while general purchases have increased by just 3.6pc.

It also found that 17pc of first-time buyers relied on a gift from family or friends to buy a property.

Insurer Legal & General estimates that 'The Bank of Mum and Dad' has lent £5.3bn to buyers this year, making it the UK's tenth largest lender.

Doug Crawford, chief executive of My Home Move, said: "With property prices racing ahead of earnings, we’re expecting to see the gifted deposit rate surpass the 10pc mark soon.

"However, a large-scale reliance among first-time buyers on gifted deposits is unsustainable, so it is important that those without the luxury of a gift from family and friends can get on the ladder, if the market is to work for everyone."

Parents and grandparents have been encouraged to give away their money to millennial relatives who are struggling to buy, as earnings stagnate and house prices increase.