London parents face the highest childcare costs in the country

The early restrictions did not reflect the interdependency of households and importance of informal childcare, the study found (Dominic Lipinski/PA) (Picture: PA Archive)

Parents in London are being hit with record childcare costs, forcing many to give up work as the number of providers in the capital falls sharply.

New figures from a Government childcare and early years provider survey show a jump of 13 per cent over four years, to £7.30, in the average hourly cost of childcare in London for toddlers.