New research from Halifax Home Insurance has revealed that each year Britons return home from holiday to a collective £2.3 billion repair bill, as homes suffer unexpected damage in their absence.

Owners of new homes may be grateful for the recently installed appliances and pipework, given that these are some of the primary causes of damage with which home owners are confronted on their return.

Each year, the Halifax research states, 1.7 million holiday-makers discover that their home is water damaged as a result of leaky pipes, costing a total of £960 million annually.

At the same time, around seven million discover a new fault with a utility such as central heating, hot water, gas or electricity - landing them with their share of a national £210 million bill.

Vicky Emmot, senior manager of underwriting at Halifax, commented: "There are lots of ... practical things that holidaymakers can do to protect their properties whilst they're away.

"For example, ensuring that the heating comes on during the winter can prevent pipes from bursting and cancelling regular deliveries like milk or newspapers make it less obvious to a thief that your property is vacant."

New home owners could also benefit from strong, modern security measures which help to avoid becoming part of the national crime statistics - Halifax states that 600,000 people return home each year to find that their properties have been vandalised.

In April, Halifax warned home owners to look for signs of subsidence as the number of claims rise in the increasingly warm weather.