The average household in Devon throws out £420 worth of food every year, a Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP) study has found.

The cost of wasted food to UK households could be as much as £10bn year, £2bn higher than previously estimated.

The research gives detailed new insights into the nature and amount of food waste thrown away in the UK and is believed to be the first study of its kind.

Researchers found that around £6bn of food a year is bought and simply left unused or untouched.

For example, each day 1.3 million unopened yoghurt pots, 5,500 whole chickens and 440,000 ready meals are thrown away in the UK.

The study revealed that £1bn worth of wasted food is still "in date".

The environmental impact of food waste is significant. Because of the energy and resources used to transport food from producer and supplier to the home, and subsequently to landfill, there is a major carbon impact.

Successfully tackling the food waste issue could mean the energy equivalent of taking 1 in 5 cars off UK roads.

Chief executive of WRAP, Liz Goodwin, said: "Food waste has a significant environmental impact. This research confirms that it is an issue for us all, whether as consumers, retailers, local or central Government."

She added: "What shocked me the most was the cost of our food waste at a time of rising food bills, and generally a tighter pull on our purse strings."