Parents spend more than £75,000 on raising each child to secondary school age in the region, new research has shown.

Families in the east of England spend £6,904 on each child every year, with childcare bills behind more than half of the total.

As a result, a total of £75,954 has been spent on every youngster by the time they turn 11 years old, the Halifax Cost of Children figures showed.

But this is the lowest amount in the country. The next lowest is Wales and west England, where parents pay £78,004. London parents face an 11-year bill of £110,466 raising each child, the highest nationally.

Richard Fearon, head of Halifax Savings, said: “It is no exaggeration that having children is a huge commitment and the stark reality of how much it could cost you over the long term should not be underestimated.

“The initial outlay can be a burden in the first year, but childcare remains a big expense through those early years, meaning careful financial planning is essential.”

The research found that parents spend £8,618 on food for each child over the 11-year period. In addition, £4,849 is spent on clothes, £2,669 is spent on toys and £6,049 is spent on their holidays. But childcare costs totalling £40,976 is the main source of expenditure.

Justine Roberts, chief executive and founder of Mumsnet, the online forum for mothers, said: “The high cost of childcare in this country is a perennial concern: over a third of our users say the cost has forced them to seriously consider whether they could afford to return to work after maternity leave direction.”