Loyal customers with the big name banks such as Barclays and Lloyds Bank have been warned they could be missing out on much better interest rates.

Research from wealth group Hargreaves Lansdown looking at different parts of the UK found some areas have a lot more in their savings than others.

The research looked at how much the average household held in cash ISAs and in savings accounts. The area with the most in savings accounts was the South East, where the average household had £2,198 saved up, while the area with the least in savings accounts were the North East and the North West, with both having just £71 on average.

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance, at Hargreaves Lansdown, shared some tips if your savings are low and you want to build them up.

She said: “If you’re worried that your household is its own savings notspot, don’t panic. The key is to set up a direct debit for regular payments into a competitive easy access account.

“You don’t need to save a huge amount each month, because the regular drip feed of saving means you’ll gradually build a decent sum.”

But she warned against keeping your savings with the big name banks: “Don’t just put this into your usual high street bank though, because you tend to get much better rates from online banks and savings platforms.

“You’re working hard to put this money away, so it’s important your money is working just as hard for you.”

You can get rates above 4.5 percent with several providers, looking at the top accounts on moneyfactscompare.co.uk.

This is much higher than what you can get with some of the traditional high street banks, with Lloyds Bank paying just 1.2 percent with its Easy Saver while Barclays offers just 1.16 percent with its Everyday Saver.

Looking at the research, this is how the regions compared for how much the average household had in a savings account:

• South East – £2,198
• East of England – £1,136
• South West – £897
• Average – £489
• London – £409
• West Midlands – £308
• Wales – £308
• Scotland – £299
• East Midlands £169
• Yorkshire and The Humber – £126
• North East – £71
• North West – £71.

This was the average amount in cash ISAs:

• London – £10,216
• South East – £9,246
• Wales – £9,023
• Scotland – £8,150
• East of England – £6,951
• Average – £6,711
• West Midlands – £6,165
• East Midlands £5,794
• North West – £5,722
• Yorkshire and The Humber – £5,171
• North East – £5,390
• South West – £4,770.

Ms Coles said: “There’s a yawning gulf between the British savings hotspots and the notspots, but wherever you are in the country, the cash ISA is key.

“In those well-heeled areas where people have large savings balances, the cash ISA is vital in ensuring they don’t end up paying tax on them.

“For those regions were people find it tougher to get started, the cash ISA removes a key barrier, because they don’t have to worry that they’ll make all that effort and then end up handing over a big chunk of their interest to the taxman.”

A key benefit of ISAs is the account is tax-free, with no tax to pay on any interest earnings or invesment growth within an ISA wrapper.