Britain is raising 'a generation of couch potatoes'

Britain's children are likely to become a generation of couch potatoes who cannot swim, run or cycle, according to a survey out today.

The study of 1,500 children aged between six and 15 revealed that 15 per cent could not swim, one in 10 had not learnt to ride a bike and one in four had never run a distance of 400 metres.

Around half the children surfed the internet, chatted on social networking sites and played video games. A third said they did not even own a bike, while two-thirds had a mobile phone and three out of four had a games console.

The pressure group Parents Outloud criticised schools for not devoting more time to physical exercise.

The survey was carried out the steel firm Tata Steel, which is staging a series of mini-triathlons this summer.