Families have underestimated the cost of their main household bills in the last year including council tax, gas and electricity by nearly £500 typically, research has suggested.

More than 2000 bill payers were asked by Santander Current Accounts to estimate their annual spend on their main household bills over the previous 12 months and it then compared the results with actual spending costs taken from figures provided by bodies such as Ofcom, Ofwat and Ofgem.

The research found households under-estimated their bill spending, made up of council tax, gas, electricity, water, television, phone and broadband costs, by around £467 over the course of a year.

Bill payers' council tax was typically almost double their estimate, at £1444 on average. At the other end of the scale they over-estimated their yearly TV, phone and broadband costs by £374 on average.

They also significantly under-estimated their spending on gas bills by £243 and electricity by £72.

More than a quarter of those surveyed admit they do not read their statements properly, while 3% said they do not open their statements at all.

One in nine householders said they were unable to afford their bills and 44% said they were "only just" able to cover them.

When asked how they budget for bills, 41% said they do not do this, while one third said they set money aside each month based on their own estimate of their bills. One in seven said they had a separate bank account set up specifically to deal with their bills.