Grandparents 'providing taxi service'

British grandparents are driving 3.8 billion miles every year ferrying their grandchildren around, according to a new survey.

The UK's 13 million grandparents are most likely to be asked to take the grandchildren for a ride during the half-term week, with 69% taking on the role of chauffeur for the holiday.

Taking grandchildren to parties is the job of 27% of grandparents, while another 10% admit they spend more time ferrying their grandchildren to social functions rather than socialising themselves.

Despite this, only 20% of grandparents confess that they feel they are being taken advantage of, according to the survey conducted by Sheila's Wheels insurance.

Analysis suggests that if grandparents were to charge for their driving services at the same rate as a taxi firm, they would earn an average of £3160 a year.