Employees struggling financially during the ongoing credit crunch are taking items from the workplace in a bid to save cash, it has been revealed.

According to a survey by Norwich Union, stealing stationery and toilet rolls from the office is one of the so-called stealth saving measures being adopted by many Britons.

Indeed, 17 per cent of the UK public have admitted to taking such items from work, as well as fiddling their expense reports to claim back more than they have spent.

The publication of the survey comes as research from Bupa shows that over a third of people are concerned about their job security as the credit crunch bites.

Of these, over two in five have experienced higher levels of stress at work since the financial crisis began and almost a quarter are putting in more hours in a bid to impress their employer and ward off potential redundancy.