The average amount left under a pillow for a tooth has dropped from £1.22 to 87p in the past six months. The figures, from milk producer Cravendale, also show that 38% of British children do not get any money from the tooth fairy. The data, entitled the Pillow Index, asked 1,000 parents in the UK what their children received after giving their teeth to the tooth fairy.

Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, said: "The tooth fairy's visits are part and parcel of growing up for most children so it's disappointing to learn that she's not been able to fulfil her duties lately.The tooth fairy is an important reminder to children to look after our teeth. Hopefully the tooth fairy can weather the current economic climate and we'll see her return to top form soon."

Children can take some solace in the fact their declining payments from the tooth fairy are still higher than the ones their parents received. The average payout for today's parents when they were children was 19p. In the latest survey, children in the Midlands were the worst off. Nearly half did not get a visit at all. Youngsters in London fared the best, with only 19% missing out on the money.

I remember once getting a Milky Way...

When he discovered his efforts would go unrewarded Ben was not pleased...

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