One in three families wouldn't last a week on their savings: Nearly nine million homes have just £250 or less as safety net The HSBC study revealed 8.8million households have £250 or less in savings Number of struggling families has reached a record high as bills rise but wages remain stagnant The average family needs just under £50-a-day to survive, report finds One in three families in Britain would survive for less than a week if they lost their job, a damning study reveals today. Around 8.8million households in this country "only have £250 or less" set aside as a financial safety net, which would protect the average family for just five days, according to the report. In a further blow, the number of struggling families has reached a record high as bills rise relentlessly, but their pay has barely changed for five years. A damning new study by banking giant HSBC has revealed one in three families wouldn't last a week on their savings. It found 8.8million of the country's 26million households have £250 or less set aside as a financial safety net (stock image) The report, from the banking giant HSBC, found 34 per cent of families have £250 or less of "accessible" savings, such as money in their current account, tax-free Isas and savings accounts. This is the highest figure recorded by HSBC, which has conducted the same piece of research every year for the last four years. In 2010, the figure was 30 per cent, falling to 28 per cent in 2011, rising again to 31 per cent last year and reaching an all-time high of 34 per cent this year. Over the last year alone, it estimates around 800,000 families have been caught in the trap of having either no safety net or one that would last for just a few days if disaster struck. To make matters worse, the most common answer given by these families is that they have no savings at all. Of the 34 per cent who have £250 or less, the report says this comprises of 25 per cent with "no savings" while a further 9 per cent have some cash set aside. The average family needs just under £50 a day to survive, according to the report. The study shows the number of families struggling has reached a record high as the cost of living continues to rise (stock image) This is money needed to cover all their typical outgoings from food to electricity, council tax to water, transport costs to gas. For many families, it is not just losing their job which would cause a problem. Others might be tipped over the edge by losing a shift or over-time pay, becoming too ill to continue to work full-time or having an unexpected bill to pay. On average, HSBC said the average person has a savings pot of £14,400, which would last for just over nine months based on an average monthly expenditure of £1,500. However, there is a significant gender divide, with 29 per cent of women having no "accessible" savings compared to only 19 per cent of men. It comes as official figures showed inflation dropped sharply last month, but prices are still rising three times faster than the average worker's pay. The figures, from the Office for National Statistics, show the consumer prices index measure of inflation fell from 2.7 per cent in September to 2.2 per cent in October. The Prime Minister hailed the "significant drop," which brings down inflation to the lowest annual rate since last September, and said it is "encouraging news for hard-working people." But the fall in inflation comes amid a backdrop of crippling increases in energy bills, paltry pay rises of just 0.7 per cent and rising food bills up by 4.3 per cent over the last 12 months. To add to the pressure on families, inflation has been above the Government's target of two per cent for four years during a time when pay rises have been below inflation throughout. The HSBC report was based on survey of 2,035 people in the UK aged 18 and over.