Food waste campaigners are urging young people to get into the habit of freezing bread to cut the 24 million slices thrown away every day in the UK.

The average person throws out more than half a loaf of bread every month and three-quarters of all bread that is binned has simply not been used in time, Love Food Hate Waste said.

A survey of UK consumers aged between 18 and 34 found 69% throw bread away every week and 26% know they can make toast straight from frozen bread but do not do it.

More than half of people (56%) eat bread at least four days a week, the poll found, and 31% eat it every day.

About three in five (61%) of those surveyed, when told that it takes a year to produce bread from field to fork, said they would be more likely to freeze it to reduce waste.

Sarah Clayton, from Love Food Hate Waste, said: “We can all do our bit to bin less bread by popping it in the freezer to keep it for much longer, and you can even use bread straight from the freezer to make toast without needing to defrost it first.”

:: Censuswide surveyed 1,000 UK adults aged 18-34 in March.