ES News email The latest headlines in your inbox twice a day Monday - Friday plus breaking news updates Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive lunchtime headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts, by email Update newsletter preferences

The average cost of childcare in London has soared to nearly £16,000 a year, according to a report.

The average couple in the United Kingdom spends a third of their income on childcare costs, says the report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

In other parts of the world parents spend around 15 per cent of their annual income on childcare.

Families in London spend £15,700 a year on average finding nursery places for their children, the report states.

The OECD added that spiralling childcare costs make the UK the worst country for couples with young children.

The report states: “Such high costs are a strong deterrent to employment.

“It may not be financially worthwhile for both partners to work, especially in families with several children, and it is usually the mother who stays at home.”

A report from the Family and Childcare Trust revealed that childcare in the capital is a third more expensive than the rest of the country.

The report singled out Denmark and Sweden as examples of having good childcare systems, who offer publicly subsidised childcare.