PENDLE is the most affordable rural location to buy a home in Britain, a new property survey has revealed.

The borough came top in the Halifax Quality of Rural Life survey which saw an average house price to annual gross earnings ratio of 3.5.

The survey covered 119 areas across the country and looked at local performance across a range of indicators including the housing market, education and health.

Coun Tony Beckett, housing and regeneration cabinet member, who represents Barrowford ward, said: “It is no surprise that Pendle is doing well in surveys like these.

“We have the best of both worlds here with great property prices and a beautiful place to live.

“These surveys are normally focused on the south of England with Pendle very rarely ever getting a mention.

"Hopefully these results will help attract people to the area. We have a lot going on over the summer and people just need to see it for themselves. It is just great to be recognised.”

Aiming to discover where living standards are highest in Britain, the data for the survey was gathered from sources such as the Met Office, the Office of National Statistics and the Department of Children, Schools and Families.

Simon Morgan, from Petty’s estate agents, said however that if you compared house prices in Pendle to those in the Ribble Valley, they were not ‘a million miles away’.