UK residents are throwing up to £10 of their weekly food bill in the bin, a study has found.

Research by online electrical retailer, ao.com, has found that UK families spend an average of £57.73 each week on groceries, yet half of them say up to £10 of their weekly food bill goes in the bin, despite them searching for savvy supermarket deals and reductions.

Half of those from the Midlands admit that the main reason they throw food away is because it goes out of date quicker than expected.

An average of nine items of fruit and veg and two meat, bread or dairy items are thrown out of each household per week.

Those living in the Midlands throw away more oranges, bananas and tomatoes that the national average.

Emma Marsh, head of Love Food Hate Waste, said: “Making better use of our fridges and freezers can help food last longer resulting in less waste. In fact, there are potential savings to be made of around £200 million if we all used our fridges correctly and lowered the temperature. New technology also means that now more than ever, families can store food for longer and really make the most of their weekly shop.”