Half of Brighton and Hove residents do not have a library within a 15-minute walk.

Analysis from the Office for National Statistics shows 49 per cent of people in the city had a library within a 15-minute walk of their home.

Despite this, 93 per cent were within half an hour of a library and every resident could reach one within an hour's walk.

The ONS's figures show Brighton and Hove had 13 open libraries as of August, or one for every 21,500 people in the area.

Across England and Wales, people in rural areas are less likely to have a library within 15 minutes of them, although those living in some towns are also missing out.

Londoners are far more likely to have a nearby library than other regions – nine out of the top ten areas were in the capital. By comparison, half of the bottom ten were in the West Midlands, while four were in the South East.

A recent investigation by the BBC found more than 180 council-run libraries have either closed or been handed to volunteer groups since 2018, with 2,000 jobs lost.

Councillor Liz Green, chairwoman of the Local Government Association's culture, tourism and sport board, said: "Recent LGA research shows that councils in England are facing a £2.3 billion funding gap in 2025-26, rising to £3.9 billion in 2026-27. This means that many councils are facing the difficult decision to close libraries down in order to maintain funding for statutory services."

The LGA is calling on the government to provide a "significant and sustained" increase in funding to help provide community services.