Rising demand is making the cost of hiring a nanny at an affordable proice increasingly difficult.

According to latest figures there are at least 100,000 nannies in Britain, an increase which reflects the fact more mums are working full or part-time.

Employing a Mary Poppins figure on a daily basis has always been an expensive business but increasingly all but the top earners are being priced out of the market.

A mother in Sussex returning to work would have to earn at least £18,852 gross just to cover the employment cost, including tax and national insurance, of hiring a nanny.

To compound the problem, nannies across the country are once again receiving inflation-busting pay rises, according to a survey by Brighton-based Nannytax, a payroll company which specialises in helping parents.

Middle and low income families can claim tax credits towards the cost of leaving their children with childminders or at nurseries, both of which are now registered and inspected by Ofsted.

But the Government has resisted calls for nannies to be registered or inspected, regarding the arrangement as a private transaction and therefore refusing to give tax relief to parents employing them.

At the same time, nanny agencies report an upturn in placements at the end of last year, particularly in London and the Home Counties.

The demand for part-time nannies from parents hard-pressed to pay full-time salaries continues to grow.

Fewer full-time, sole-charge positions are now available.

Some 44 per cent of nannies are in part-time or nanny share jobs.

Flexible, multi-tasking nannies, it seems, are what parents are asking for.

Agencies say a national register of nannies would offer great reassurance for parents and 82 per cent say parents are becoming increasingly security-conscious.

Stephen Louis, managing director of Nannytax, said: "Our survey shows two clear trends: first, that parents continue to be willing to pay for the highest quality child-care and second, that as parents' own work-life balance becomes more complicated, they are asking for increasing flexibility from their nannies.

"This is something that my wife and I, as parents and employers of a nanny ourselves, are keenly aware of."

Jayne Austen, founder of Hove-based nanny agency Corporate Kids, is lobbying the Government to introduce a form of tax credit which would allow more women to employ nannies.

She said: "There is a stereotypical image of people who employ nannies as wealthy and not requiring family tax credit.

"But this is simply not the case any more.

"There are many working families who would love to hire a nanny, maybe because they work unconventional hours, but are deterred from doing so because they won't get any tax breaks."

Wednesday February 04, 2004