A newly-compiled "rich list" has revealed the Wealden district to be one of the most affluent parts of the country.

The survey, published by Barclays, placed the area 50th in a nationwide table of high earners.

The list of 569 parliamentary constituencies calculated the order of affluence based on the percentage of people earning more than £60,000.

Wealden, a largely rural area favoured by London commuters, includes Hailsham, Herstmonceux, Hellingly, Crowborough, Uckfield and Polegate.

The list calculated that 6.3 per cent of voters earned £60,000 or more.

But Wealden's Conservative MP Charles Hendry said: "Figures like these can be misleading. They are probably a bit of fun rather than anything else.

"There are significant areas of difficulty in Wealden and I would hate people to look at these figures and think there were no problems in the area."

Topping the list was the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea, with 12.5 per cent of the population on high salaries.

Horsham came in at number 57 with six per cent, Arundel and South Downs at 66 with 5.7 per cent and Mid Sussex at 85 with five per cent.

Brighton appeared at 183 with 3.3 per cent, the same as Lewes, while Hove was 267th with 2.6 per cent.

West Worthing secured 335th spot with 2.1 per cent, while Worthing East and Shoreham appeared at 370 with 1.9 per cent.

Crawley made it to 270 with a figure of 2.5 per cent and Eastbourne was at 358 with two per cent.

Kemp Town, in Brighton, was number 384 on the list with a percentage of 1.8.

Hastings was the lowest-scoring constituency in Sussex, managing 1.7 per cent for 410th slot.