Payments from the Tooth Fairy are down by 10 per cent - and kids in Bolton get an average of £1.35 per gnasher, according to a new survey.

The figure in the town is down by 17p from £1.52 in the last four years, suggesting the Tooth Fairy may be feeling the pinch.

Around two per cent of youngsters get as much as £20 for each tooth that falls out, the survey found.

Nationally, the Tooth Fairy is the most careful in Newcastle where kids get an average of 80p per lost tooth - a 20 per cent slump on 2015’s figure.

The results came from a new survey of 2,000 parents by cosmetic dental brand Your Smile Direct.

The survey found that average payments nationally had dropped by 10 per cent from £2.10 to £1.90 since 2015.

More than a quarter of children get a £1 coin for each lost tooth, 24 per cent get a £2 coin, and 14 per cent get less than £1 - most typically 50p.

A further 11 per cent get £5, 10 per cent get £10, 3 per cent get between £10 and £20 and 2 per cent get more than £20.

Only 8 per cent of kids never receive a visit from the Tooth Fairy.

More than a third of parents (34 per cent) said their children spent their Tooth Fairy money on sweets.

Dr Mark-Anthony Shepherd, lead dentist for Your Smile Direct, said: “Even the Tooth Fairy is feeling the pinch.

“But it is great news that the Tooth Fairy is still visiting 92 per cent of homes with children.

“It is a shame that a third of children are spending their Tooth Fairy money on sweets - that is the quickest way to ensure a further visit from the Tooth Fairy.”

Most children have a full set of 20 milk or baby teeth by the age of three and start losing them by the age of five or six.

They tend to fall out in the same order they came, with the front centre lower teeth going first.

It takes six or more years to grow a full set of 28 adult teeth - 32 if you include wisdom teeth which arrive right at the back of the mouth around the age of 20.