The cost of motoring is putting festive family get-togethers at risk, according to research from Hyundai.

A third of families have been forced to cut visits to relatives, says the company, while six in 10 have had to forget about travelling to family for a Sunday roast dinner due to the cost.

Almost a third (30%) say they can't afford to visit their parents, making mum and dad the most likely to miss out on family fun because of fuel costs.

Around a fifth of men said they would be happy to forego visits to their mother in law, while a similar proportion among all drivers said they had cancelled trips to see their grandparents.

According to the study, the average family now spends £756 per year travelling 1,068 miles to see family. In five years fuel costs have risen from a quoted 87.9p per litre to around 130p per litre today; a rise of around 50%.

As a result two in five drivers have altogether ruled out trips to see family living more than 150 miles away.

When asked whether they were cutting back elsewhere in their lives to pay for fuel, 35% of respondents said that they cut back on family nights out to pay for fuel, while 14% even admitted to cutting back on food to run their vehicle.

Tony Whitehorn, President and CEO of Hyundai UK, said: "The research gave us a great insight into the issues drivers face. We were especially surprised to learn that one in 10 drivers would even cut out Christmas visits to relatives due to the cost.

"Fuel economy is really important to Hyundai and lots of work goes into the continual improvement of the efficiency of our products, which should help keep family ties strong."