A new survey has highlighted the extent to which second home buyers have driven up prices in Devon and Cornwall.

A housebuyer in the region now has to pay seven times the average annual earnings to find a home - compared with 5.98 times for England and Wales as a whole.

And the average price of a home in hot-spots such as South Hams in Devon is �178,000 - nearly 10 times the average local wage.

Experts who produced the survey said people who want holiday homes in Devon and Cornwall had sent demand - and prices - soaring.

House prices report

Least affordable: Kensington and Chelsea. Property prices average �663,506 - 18 times local earnings Most affordable: Burnley in Lancashire. Property prices average �34,860 - 1.7 times local earnings

George Rankin, from Barclays Private Clients who carried out the survey said: "The South West has always been a popular area for second homes.

"But as people make more and more money from equity in the London area, that is driving the demand for holiday homes.

"We have seen a strong housing market in the UK for the past three years, but while it is slowing down, low interest rates give people the confidence to invest in property which they otherwise would not."

Local authorities in the South West are attempting to provide more affordable housing for local people.

But where affordable new homes are needed, there is often fierce opposition from those campaigning against new developments on greenfield sites.

Some people are fed up with waiting for councils to tackle the problem.

In Torrington, north Devon, a self build association has been set up to build 70 homes.

More than 50 local people have already shown an interest in the scheme.