Nearly a third of Brits won't see mums on Mother's Day

Just 30% of Brit adults will make the effort to see their mothers this weekend while only 40% can be bothered to pop a card in the post.

And of those who will spend time with their dear old mum, a quarter will her to do the cooking and serve lunch rather than take her out for a meal.

Britain's shameful attitude towards the nation's mums was revealed in a poll of 2,000 Brits.

The poll found that despite the reluctance of many to travel to see their mums, the nation will still fork out £435m on treating their mothers this weekend.

A total of £435m will be spent on presents, flowers and meals out with each Britain spending an average of £24.38 on their mum.

Flowers are the gift of choice for half of Brits, followed by chocolates (27%) and perfume (8%).

One in 10 of those surveyed said they would seek out something more unusual to treat their mum, covering everything from a bag of compost to two weeks of sunshine in the Caribbean.

The survey found that a quarter of Brits see their parents less than once every three months and almost 5% visit less than once a year.

Steve Laidlaw, director at DistinctiveChesterfields.com, which carried out the survey, said: "For all that cleaning, washing, cooking and general looking-after that your mum has done over the years, make Mothering Sunday a special occasion.

"You don't need to spend loads of money, simply visit her and she will really appreciate the gesture much more than an extravagant gift."

Mothering Sunday began as a tradition around 500 years ago when wild flowers would be picked in the run up to Easter and given as a thank you to hard-working mums.