PARENTS pay up to £200 a week to send a child to a nursery, says research out today.

And that doubles for a child minder - up to £400 a week, nearly £21,000 a year in outer London - says The Daycare Trust charity.

Rising childcare costs mean that parents spend about a third of their weekly earnings on nurseries, the charity says.

Parents in England pay an average £152 a week for a full-time nursery place for a child under two. This is a rise of nearly 6% on last year.

In Wales, the average is £131.

But a nursery place for a child under two in central London typically costs £205 a week, says the survey.

A spokeswoman for the trust called for more Government cash to help parents pay childcare bills.

"With typical childcare costs rising to over a third of average earnings, parents cannot afford to bear the burden of increasing childcare costs alone," she said.

"Despite significant Government investment in early years and childcare, funding childcare needs to be further improved so that all children have access to high-quality, affordable and accessible childcare."

UK parents pay around 70% of the cost of childcare. In European it is about 30%.