The number of people dipping into their savings to pay for an unexpected bill or the odd luxury has fallen by a fifth at the start of this year compared with the end of last year, according to new figures.

Only 37 per cent of savers raided their nest egg in the first quarter of 2006 compared with nearly half (45 per cent) last year, claims investment provider Birmingham Midshires.

The most common reason for breaking into savings was to cope with unplanned overspending on a current account (27 per cent of people), followed by paying for a holiday or weekend break (20 per cent) and buying gift or luxuries (19 per cent).

In terms of age, the older generation are raiding double the amount of youngsters with under 30s only pilfering £166 from piggybanks compared with the over 50s who raid £335 from their nest eggs.

"The good news is that the percentage of UK raiders is on the decline – we want to encourage people to resist the temptation to dip into their hard-earned savings so they can build a nest egg for the future," said Jason Robinson from Birmingham Midshires

"We'd encourage those that still find it hard to resist impulse purchases and unnecessary overspending to think carefully about the impact it will have on the interest they incur on their savings."