Britain is a nation of homebirds, according to the first in a new series of studies by TSB.

The bank said that, while Brits are considered to be obsessed with property prices, for many their home is much more than just a house.

The study revealed that seven in 10 people deem ‘home’ to be the place where they live now, compared to more than one in 10 (14%) who think it is where they were born.

Almost half of people still live in or near to the location of their childhood home. TSB also found that men tend to leave their childhood home a year later than women. However, twice as many men plan to return to the area they grew up in.

Ian Ramsden, director of mortgages at TSB, said: “A home is more than a house. It’s more than a place to lay your head, it’s where we grow and evolve. Not just as individuals and family units, but also as communities.

“There are elements which you simply cannot put a price on and we wanted to understand more about what draws people to the places they call home. There are many factors at play which ultimately decide where people choose to live and the first of our HOME reports looks at how our childhood homes influence where we base ourselves as adults.”