With the prospect looming of university with fees of up to £9,000 a year, he has some tough decisions to make. “I have a £350,000 mortgage that I have to start paying off if I want to retire when I’m 65, so the boys will have to get loans,” he says. “I also worry about whether they will ever manage to get onto the property ladder and will do all I can to help – but by the same token, I don’t want to become a cash cow. The truth is, I can’t afford to keep on supporting them.”