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One in twenty young adults in the UK are unable to make a cup of tea, a survey claims.

A further one in ten have never made their own bed and 17 per cent have never operated a washing machine.

A survey of the nation’s young adults has revealed how totally unprepared modern youngsters are for leaving home.

Some 11 per cent admitted they have no idea how to operate a washing machine and a further one in ten not knowing how to cook a simple pasta dish.

And it seems modern mums and dads are to blame for mollycoddling, with seven in ten of those polled said their parents make every meal for them and that they are waited on hand and foot - with washing and ironing and even cleaning their own bedroom falling to their parents.

(Image: Maskot)

The nationwide survey of 1,000 youngsters who are about to leave home to start university, found as many as half admit they are completely unprepared to fly the nest for the first time.

As many as 17 per cent have never cleaned a bathroom in their life.

The study by Iceland, showed nearly a third of prospective undergraduates said their lack of basic skills has left them unable to sleep at night in the run-up to them leaving the comfort of the family home and 18 percent are fearful that university will be a disaster.

Of those quizzed 43 per cent said they are worried about handling their own finances for the first time, while more than one in ten astonishingly said they couldn’t make their own bed - while a further one in ten can’t even boil an egg.

(Image: The Image Bank)

According to the survey, 17 per cent are apprehensive about working a washing machine when they are living in students digs and 14 percent of university students say their parents do absolutely everything for them when they lived at home.

Just 53 per cent percent are expected to help out household chores when living at home.

To help unprepared students, Iceland is launching a 10 per cent discount off its entire range, both in-store and online, to help youngsters settle in to life away from home and ease the pressure of managing their finances for the first time.

Marketing Director at Iceland Neil Hayes said: “It’s only natural for students to be apprehensive about leaving home for the first time and we want to make the transition easier.

“Our research has shown that students feel they are somewhat unprepared to fend for themselves when they leave home, especially when buying food.

“We are offering a 10 per cent off discount for students to use in store from the 17th of September.

“This will hopefully relieve some of the pressures that students are facing and to give them money off our range of great value and convenient foods such as frozen avocado and pizzas.”

Of those surveyed 58 percent said they wish they had mucked in more at home so they would be more equipped to living on their own during their uni years.

Those living away from home will still rely on help from mum and dad, with the average university student ringing home four times a week to ask for assistance.

Mum is the most popular person to ring for help (62 per cent), followed by dad (36 per cent) but nearly one in ten youngsters (eight per cent) even resort to calling on gran or grandad for advice.

Unsurprisingly the survey discovered more than one in ten (11 per cent) of those polled said they only eat junk food while away at university and described their diet as ‘bad’.

Of those, more than half (54 per cent) said they can’t afford to eat a balanced diet and 28 per cent said they don’t know any healthy recipes to cook a nutritious.

Three in ten simply said they couldn’t cook anything at all.

Despite complaining that eating well was too expensive, 16 per cent of undergraduates said they always eat out to save them from having to slave over a hot stove.

In fact, the average student spends £285 each term on eating out - even though half said they eat out at cafes and restaurants far more than they can afford to.

The poll found that more than a quarter of student (26 per cent) save up their dirty laundry to take it home for their mum to wash.

BASIC SKILLS MODERN STUDENTS CAN’T DO