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Billions of pounds of sports kit 'not being used'

Extravagant Britons own £23 billion-worth of home sporting equipment - much of which goes unused.

This was among the findings of new research from life insurance provider LV=.

The insurer said yesterday that around £10 billion of golf clubs and bIkes among other paraphernalia had not been used for the past six months.

What's more, around £4.4 billion has gone untouched for over three years.

Much of what was bought was done so on credit, whether through a card or a personal loan - and the sheer quantity of unused kit will bring home the need for people to spend responsibly.

LV= spokesperson Emma Hoyler also pointed out that the equipment also needed to be insured in order to risk owners being left out of pocket even further.

"Homeowners should also ensure they have personal possessions cover. This not only covers items like mobile phones, money, laptops and bags, but also sports equipment when it is away from the home," she warned.

"As electronics become increasingly difficult to sell on, thieves are now targeting sporting equipment as it's easy to sell on the black market."

Bikes were found to be a particular money drain by the life insurance provider.

Almost half (48 per cent) of households were found to own one - although 40 per cent of this total admitted to not having used them for the past six months.

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