THERE was a time we used them for our cars, yet however big our garages are these days, it would appear the majority of our motors still haven’t seen the inside of one.

More than two-thirds of British households have so much junk in their garages, they don’t have room to park their vehicles.

According to a new survey the average family has around £3,400 worth of items stored in their garage, yet keeps vehicles worth almost four times as much (£13,487) on the road or driveway.

A quarter of those polled admitted parking a car on their drive even though 41 per cent of respondents felt worried that it would be broken into, stolen or vandalised.

Meanwhile, a quarter confessed it was too much effort to park their vehicles in their garages, according to the survey of multi-car households by insurance company Aviva.

The firm’s Garage Gridlock study cited men as being the main culprits for clogging up the garage with DIY materials, tools and gardening equipment.

The clutter in garages is forcing car owners to look elsewhere to park, with a third saying they have difficulties finding on-street parking.

Yet 38 per cent said they only clear out their garage once a year and one in 10 said they never do so.

The Daily Echo spoke to some Bournemouth men – who asked not to be named for fear of nagging – to discover just what they keep in theirs.

The results were not really that surprising.

Chris lives in Southbourne and does keep cars in his garage – two classic cars. “My 1972 MGB Roadster and my 1952 MGYB saloon live in there. Plus a ladder,” he says.

John lives in Bournemouth and keeps a dilapidated Mk II Lotus Cortina in his.

“Plus three ladders. And some other bits.”

Nigel lives with his mum and dad in Poole.

“My dad’s garage is full of stuff; loads of bits of wood, bits of car engines, old bits of carpet, stuff for the car boot sale.

“He says it will all come in useful but I know it won’t.”

Ed, who lives in Poole, does put his car in his garage. But after hearing what else he keeps in there, it sounds incredible that he can ever fit the vehicle in.

“I’ve got a tumble dryer, two bikes, an old bike frame that I’m going to do up one of these days, a ladder, a bodyboard I bought in the early 1990s, a go-kart which I made, a bucket for washing the car, lots of old chamois leathers, a machine for polishing stones (Does he mean a tumbler? “Yes”) which belonged to my daughter, old tools, drain rods, some picture frames, nails and screws, a freezer...”

Darren “could fit my car in the garage” but generally doesn’t and his is home to “bikes, scooters, a fridge-freezer...” although he is starting to wonder if the space would be better used as a room.

He is not alone. As home-owners consider postponing their move, and the cost of a brand-new extension seems too much, many are deciding to convert their garage into that much-needed extra reception room, or home-office space.

Peter Jervis, who runs a series of home improvements websites, says: “If you’ve got an unused garage, you’ve already got a room there and it’s easy to create additional space at a much lower cost than moving or building an extension.”