The average British household has 138 books, but more than half have never been read, according to a study. An estimated 3.6 billion books are on shelves, in bedrooms or lofts in homes across the country, research by self storage firm Shurgard found.

A survey of 2,000 adults, published on World Book Day, showed that two-thirds kept books because they were emotionally attached to them, while over one in four said they hated throwing anything away. Duncan Bell of Shurgard said: “Whether holding on to a literary gem or a nostalgic novel, our research shows we are still hooked on the romance of leafing through a good old-fashioned book.”