Many Brits would suffer from serious financial problems if they were forced to stop working due to cancer, a new survey claims.

Around two thirds of Brits have not made any contingency plans for their finances despite statistics revealing that one in six people will get cancer before the age of 70, according to research from Virgin Money.

Over half of those polled said they hoped that they would be covered by company sick pay even though one in five is unsure of their employer's sick pay policy.

Over half said they would rely on money from savings, loans and support from family and friends but one in ten had not even given the matter any thought.

Sir Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Money, said: "There are too many people who are not protecting themselves financially against cancer often because of the prohibitive costs of traditional cover. Fighting cancer is hard enough without having to worry about money."

Half of those surveyed said that being in a comfortable financial position would help them to better focus on recovery.

Young people aged between 16 and 24 are most concerned about the impact that cancer would have on their finances yet they are also least likely to have thought about how they would cope if they were unable to work.