An MP has called for action to halt the flow of people moving to Sussex after a report named it as still one of the most expensive places in Britain to buy a house.

West Sussex is the seventh most expensive county, with the average semi-detached house fetching £144,200.

In East Sussex the figure is £133,200, making it the eighth most expensive county according to the latest Halifax House Price Index.

The cheapest area in Britain is south Humberside, where buyers pay only £46,000 for a similar property.

In Greater London, the most expensive area, the average price is £226,050.

Lewes Lib Dem MP Norman Baker welcomed news that houses in the South-East as a whole were selling for £131,898, a one per cent fall between the third and last quarters of 2000.

Mr Baker said: "I am glad to see that despite East Sussex being a very expensive county in which to buy a house, prices are beginning to stabilise.

"This will hopefully prevent young people who have grown up locally being priced out of the market."

He added: "The answer to affordable housing is not to build, build, build. That failed to satisfy demand when it came to building roads and would fail with housing.

"Instead, the Government must address the South-East's vacuum effect, by which I mean the way the region sucks up so many people from the entire country.

"We must ensure that the regions of the UK have sufficient numbers of jobs and are attractive enough places for people to stay there, rather than be attracted in such numbers to our region."