Toy shop chain The Entertainer and The Salvation Army are partnering up to get disadvantaged children reading this World Book Day.

The Big Book Rehoming campaign is calling on families to donate their unwanted children's books, so they can be given a new lease of life with underprivileged families.

Research commissioned by The Entertainer of 807 families across Britain found that a third of families (30 per cent), spend over 2 hours a week watching YouTube videos together with 1 in 7 households in the survey spending more than four hours watching YouTube together each week.

It also found that one in 11 children don't own a book and that one in five (20pc) of families spend less than an hour a week reading with their children and one in 12 (8pc) spent less than half an hour reading with their children.

When asked to rank the importance of doing activities together as a family, making social media content together such as creating social posts, Tik Tok and YouTube videos also ranked higher than reading.

When it came to getting out and about as a family, out of school clubs and trips to the cinema were regular activities on the family calendar with nearly a third of families going to the cinema every month and out of school classes being visited every two to three days for a quarter of families.

A quarter of families (22pc) never visited a library.

Founder and executive chairman of The Entertainer Gary Grant said: "Reading is such an important part of childhood learning and development.

Knowledge and education are fundamental building blocks for life and missing out on having books to read can take away the freedom and imagination reading can inspire.

We're proud to be helping to rehome books with children who need them whilst continuing to support the work of The Salvation Army."

Head of corporate partnerships of The Salvation Army trading company, Kirk Bradley said: "Donations from members of the public help The Salvation Army in continuing to provide practical and emotional support to vulnerable people in the UK.

"This is another vital campaign which benefits those who need it most and we are overjoyed to be taking part".

The campaign will run across all of The Entertainer's 172 stores from World Book Day, today, (March 5) to March 14. The annual event sees children dressing up to celebrate their favourite storybook characters.

The Entertainer stores can be found in The Brewery Shopping Centre and The Mercury Shopping Centre, Romford; The Exchange Shopping Centre, Ilford;, Westfield Shopping Centre, Stratford; The Glades Shopping Centre, Bromley; the Broadway Centre, Bexley and Bluewater Shopping Centre.