Brighton and Hove has been named as one of the least affordable areas in Britain.

It came tenth in a survey of 40 areas around the country in the study published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

The study showed the percentage of working households under 40 with enough income to pay a social rent without any housing benefit, but unable to afford the lowest ten per cent of house prices for local two and three-bedroom homes.

Brighton and Hove scored 47.3 per cent but the worst was Weymouth and Portland with 54.6 per cent, closely followed by Bournemouth at 51.6 per cent.

The lowest on the scale was Lewes at 40 per cent.

But despite the high percentage of people unable to get on the property ladder another recent survey revealed house prices across the city were some of the fastest falling in Britain.

Brighton and Hove dropped two per cent in September compared to a national fall of 0.1 per cent.

Estate agents put the fall down to sellers asking for and accepting more realistic prices which meant more people were likely to be able to get onto the property ladder.

One agent said: "Brighton has suffered because we get a lot of Londoners moving here who have struggled to sell.

"Now we are finding first-time buyers are coming back. We are feeling much more positive."