Forty three per cent of British people say they intend to leave money to charity in their wills, according to a survey conducted last month by the British Heart Foundation.

The survey of 2,000 adults was carried out by BHF to mark the launch of a legacy giving campaign.

The survey also found that 73 per cent of those polled said that they got a ‘feel good factor’ from the act of giving time or money to charity, while 48 per cent said that giving to charity gave them a ‘real feeling of wellbeing’.

The poll also asked people why they wanted to give. Almost 10 per cent said they donated due a feeling of guilty, while 16 per cent said it was in order to feel good about themselves. But 62 per cent said it was because they ‘genuinely wanted to help’.

When asked about motivations for leaving a gift in a will, 52 per cent of those surveyed cited having a personal link to the cause as a key reason for doing so, while 28 per cent polled said that they would be doing so to feel good about giving something back to society.

Sarah Dalling, legacy marketing manager at the BHF said: “What is encouraging is that over half of those polled said that having a personal link to the cause would be a key motivator for them to commit to leaving a gift in their will.”