PENDLE is one of the most affordable rural places to buy a house and is attracting a large number of first-time buyers, despite new figures showing the rising cost of living in the sticks.

A new national survey has revealed that a countryside home costs on average a fifth more than one in a town or city.

But Pendle was named as joint-sixth most affordable rural area, with the average house price of £131,542 over £100,000 below the national average.

It also boasts the largest slice of first-time buyers putting down roots, with 62 per cent compared to 42 per cent nationally.

Craig McKinlay, mortgage director at Halifax, said: “Many home owners aspire to live in the countryside, attracted by the prospect of a better quality of life, open space and a cleaner environment.

“However, realisation of this dream comes at a cost with average property values typically over a fifth higher than in urban areas.”

The Halifax Rural Housing Review shows homebuyers pay a premium of nearly £44,000 to live in the countryside.

At £236,971 on average, a home in a rural area costs £43,490 more than a property in a town or a city.

The biggest price gap between urban and rural was found in the West Midlands, where it costs 50 per cent (£84,610) more to live in the countryside.

Buyers looking to live in a rural setting end up paying around seven times their annual earnings for a home.

Buyers looking for value may want to consider Copeland in west Cumbria, which was identified as the most affordable rural district in Britain.