The last five years has witnessed a huge rise in the number of families choosing to go on a camping holiday. With more people feeling the pinch financially, camping is the obviously choice for a cheaper stay-in-the-UK style summer holiday. Now this trend has sparked a new entertainment for children: Sleepovers under canvas.

Parents across the UK are being asked by their offspring for nights of tented fun in the garden. And with a host of cheap camping equipment on the market, including tents, sleeping bags and mattresses, this new appetite for outdoors play is set to be a winner for families. Many mums and dads are keen to find new ways to encourage their children to spend more time outdoors, but without breaking the bank.

Richard Cooks, a dad to son Tom, is delighted by the new under-canvas trend. Twelve-year-old Tom has enjoyed several sleepovers in their back garden already this summer.

Richard, who lives in Glasgow, says: “We don’t have a huge back garden but it has space enough for a family tent. The garden is also safe and enclosed so I’m happy with Tom and his pals spending a night outside.

“We’ve not had to buy a tent because we’ve already enjoyed many family camping holidays. All we do is ask for the kids to bring their own sleeping bags.”

Tom thinks the garden camping is great fun. He says: “It feels really exciting to sleep in a tent in the garden with my friends. We all have a good laugh and we don’t really get a lot of sleep.”

In the morning, dad Richard gets out the camping stove and cooks up bacon rolls for Tom and his friends.

Mum Theresa, of Swindon, has also given her son the freedom to camp out in their garden. She also orgainsed a Birthday Camping Party for eight-year-old Aidan. She says: “Aidan wanted a party that was a bit different. A camping party really excited him.

"He is quite young, though, so when he asked to have a couple of friends for a tent sleepover I pitched a smaller tent next to theirs.

“I let them have all the fun the wanted until about 10pm, when I then went out to my tent. I just read a book and made sure they were going off to sleep before I went to sleep myself.

 “Aidan absolutely loved the overnight treat and we’re now planning a proper family camping holiday.”

With so many reports revealing that children spend too much time indoors watching TV or staring at their computers, this new garden camping trend is sure to please many more parents. As Richard said: “I’m always trying to encourage Tom to get out and about and this sleepover under canvas thing has really whet his appetite for new camping adventures. I am planning to take him, his younger sister and his mum away for a weekend of wild camping in the Scottish Highlands later this summer.”