The image of hundreds of desperate customers queuing for hours outside branches of the Northern Rock bank last year, fearful that their life savings were about to be wiped out, is not one many people will remember in a hurry.

Indeed, so wary are British consumers of the future of the economy that growing numbers are shying away from not just long-term investments but also in the simplest of financial products, including regular savings and deposit accounts.

New research carried out by the Newcastle Building Society found that a remarkable one in ten savers are now opting to stash their money under the mattress rather than pay it into a bank or other financial institution.

Of course, the major risk with such a practice is that a burglar could simply walk away with a person's life savings and not only would they not have the Treasury or the Bank of England to bail them out, but it is highly unlikely that any insurance company would be willing to pay out on an amount of cash which can never be proven.

Aside from this, however, money put away at home will earn absolutely no interest.

While it may be easy to criticise banks and building societies for giving customers measly rates and, more recently, failing to pass on the Monetary Policy Committee's three cuts to the base rate of interest, at least a standard account will generate at least a little extra money.

Furthermore, Steve Urwin, senior marketing executive at Newcastle Building Society, explains: "The effects of inflation will erode the relative value of cash over a period of time. Not only will savers not see their money grow, they will actually eventually see it decrease in terms of relative value."

For those Brits who remain – somewhat understandably – wary of potential economic developments and of industry chiefs' words of optimism, the best option in the present climate is not stowing hard-earned money away in a biscuit tin but rather putting it into something more secure.

It is no coincidence that since the Northern Rock crisis occurred, interest in fixed-rate bonds and Guaranteed Equity Bonds has soared across the country.

With the former offering a guaranteed rate of return for a fixed period and the latter linked to the stock-market yet still boasting absolute capital guarantees, they are the perfect antidote for those savers looking to place their money out of harm's way.

Though they may not deliver the spectacular returns people once dreamed of for their investments, neither will those who take them out worry that they could lose it all should the predictions of the doom-and-gloom economic commentators be realised.