Demands on housing and services face growing pressures as more people flock south for a better life.

New figures reveal East and West Sussex as one of the most attractive places in the UK in which to settle.

This has led to an influx of new residents as more people move into the region than move away.

This in turn could put more pressure on authorities to provide services including schools and hospital care, and create a huge demand for houses.

The figures show how Surrey and East and West Sussex has the biggest influx of new residents, per 1,000 inhabitants, across the entire European Union following Flevoland in the Netherlands and East Scotland.

The survey was produced by the European Union's statistical office in Luxembourg and charts the shifting population due to migration.

The population shift is recorded in terms of negative migration balance - more people leaving the region than moving in - and positive balance, more people settling in the region than moving away.

The South is shown to be luring residents away from other areas of the UK, including Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire; Lincolnshire; North Yorkshire; Northumberland, Tyne and Wear; and Shropshire and Staffordshire which are all facing a strong negative migration according to the report.

This is far more significant than in any other part of the EU.

On the other hand, Eastern Scotland has by far the biggest positive migration balance, followed by Surrey and East and West Sussex.

The next most popular places are Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire, inner London and East Anglia. But all of them are losing more residents than they are gaining.

The survey shows the difference between the number of immigrants and emigrants per 1,000 inhabitants, with Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire losing 76 inhabitants per 1,000 residents.

Lincolnshire is losing 37 inhabitants in every 1,000, North Yorkshire is losing 28, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear are losing 14 and Shropshire and Staffordshire are losing 11 inhabitants.

The figures reflect the shortfall per 1,000 inhabitants triggered by a greater emigration out of those areas than immigration into them.

In stark contrast, Surrey and East and West Sussex emerge as among the most attractive places in which to settle, recording a positive migration balance of 23 more migrants arriving in the region than emigrants moving elsewhere per 1,000 inhabitants.

The EU statistical office said: "There are significant net migration flows in England going from north to south.

"Economic push and pull factors, which often cause young people to move to other regions, are the main cause of these shifts."