There is less access to key services in rural areas, the report says

The Countryside Agency study said parents had to cope with the lowest levels of childcare provision in any region in the country.

It also claimed that standards for the region as a whole were poorer.

"Rural areas lack the range of educational provision found in urban centres," said Emmy Smart, regional director of the Countryside Agency.

Less access to public transport could also restrict opportunities for rural children and young adults, she added.

We risk creating a de-motivated rural population who are under-educated, under-resourced, under-achieving and under-serviced Emmy Smart, Regional Director of Countryside Agency in the East of England

The annual State of the Countryside report indicates that rural children actually perform slightly better than their urban counterparts in the East.

However, overall standards are poor, with marks in English and maths at Key Stage 3 the lowest and second lowest for any region in the country.

In the area of skills attainment, levels in the rural East are also the lowest proportion for any region, with only 40% of the region's rural workforce achieving an NVQ at Level 3 or above in 2003.

Fewer opportunities

The figure is lower than the average for rural England and suggests that the rural workforce in the East is less qualified and skilled than in any other region.

"Limited employment opportunities, low wages and skill levels, lack of access to key services, and public transport can combine in rural areas to exclude people from participating fully in society," Ms Smart said.

The report says eastern rural areas are the safest in the country

"We risk creating a de-motivated rural population who are under-educated, under-resourced, under-achieving and under-serviced."

But the report also highlighted a strong economic performance in rural areas, with signs that it is more prosperous than ever before.

Rural dwellers in the East enjoy better levels of health than those in any other parts of the country and see fewer criminal offences, making it one of the safest places in the country to live, it said.