There is a connection between exposure of domestic cleaning products and wheezing in toddlers, which is an early sign of asthma, according to new research.

The study of 14,000 children up to the age of three and a half, published in the journal Thorax found that exposure to household products such as bleach, aerosols, carpet and window cleaners increased the risk of wheezing.

Youngsters born into the top ten per cent of families using such products the most were more than twice as likely to suffer from wheezing compared to the bottom ten per cent, who used them the least.

Researchers said there was a link between prenatal exposure and wheezing as well as one between environmental exposures after birth.

Cases of asthma have more than tripled since the 1970s, with 1.4 million people affected, experts claim.

The Office for National Statistics has noted a dramatic rise in the use of household cleaning products in Britain over the past two decades.