The credit crunch has given an unexpected boost to car boot sales as people clear out their garages and sell their unwanted possessions to make ends meet.

Bargain hunters hoping to save money have helped to increase the number of visitors to boot sales by 40 per cent. There has also been a proportionate increase in the number of people selling.

Chris Eley, who runs carbootjunction.com, an online directory of car boot sales, said that more than 400 new events had been added to his site since June last year: “We had just over 2,000 listed last year but this has risen to around 2,500, a 25 per cent jump.

“The credit crunch is a factor but there may also be an environmental influence as I think people are less inclined to just throw things away.”

The renewed popularity of car boot sales, which had been in the doldrums in recent years, has also been spurred by significant numbers of dissatisfied users abandoning the online auction site eBay.

Buyers and sellers have complained about increased charges, eBay’s greater emphasis on large-scale “buy it now” sales and changes to the way that the site operates.

James Taroni, 30, who runs two car boot sales near Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, said that the threat of recession was a constant topic of discussion. “Every person who is coming through the gate is talking about the economy. They’re coming to either buy and save money or to earn money by selling,” he said.

“In the last six months I’ve seen a 30 to 40 per cent rise in the number of people. On a Saturday we now have around 300 stalls and more than 10,000 people.”

Thousands of car boot sales take place across Britain every weekend with sellers paying a fee of about £10 for a pitch. Among items proving particularly popular are home-grown vegetables.

Julie Evans, 47, organiser of the Stoney Street car boot sale in Hereford, said: “I think as supermarket food gets more expensive, people will look to buy elsewhere to make ends meet. More people are selling their own vegetables and I’ve got a couple of ladies who make their own organic bread. Even though it’s organic it’s still cheaper than the supermarkets.”

Fred Olsen, who has run a twice-a-week car boot sale at Sedgefield racecourse in Co Durham for 20 years, confirmed that business had recently picked up. He said: “The credit crunch is certainly hitting.”

Sellers often queue overnight to be sure of getting the best pitches at a year-round car boot sale at Matford in Exeter. David Lewis, the market manager for Exeter City Council, said: “We have about 350 sellers and up to 5,000 visitors every Sunday. We actually have sellers lining up from the night before. Most of them, though, queue up from dawn and buyers come as soon as it opens at 6.15am.

“A year or so ago the car boot sale actually became less busy but just lately it’s recovered and even exceeded what it was.

“I think there’s two reasons for the increase. People are obviously feeling the squeeze a lot more now so car boot sales offer good value for them.

“But there’s also the other side as well, which is that people are much more conscious of recycling and car boot sales are basically a massive recycling exercise. I think people are appreciating that more and more.”

Ms Evans added: “We get a lot of OAPs at the sale as I don’t think their pensions go very far, but we also get young families. More buyers are turning up because they want to get a bargain as things become too expensive in the shops. What you can buy at car boots tends to be very good value.

“We’ve also noticed more car boots starting up now, so we’re in competition with those.”

Many eBay sellers have complained about changes to the feedback system which means they cannot leave negative comments about nonpaying bidders.

Changes to eBay’s search system have also led to complaints that buyers can no longer find what they are looking for.

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