Nurses can find it difficult to find affordable property, the survey says

Research by the Halifax bank said the average house price was equivalent to 3.4 times a police officer's salary and 3.7 times that of a teacher.

Property in Scotland is the most affordable in the UK, the survey said.

But ambulance workers were priced out of the market in 94% of towns in Scotland, and nurses in 79%.

Across the UK, key workers can no longer afford to buy an averaged price house in 65% of towns, compared to 24% five years ago.

London proved to be the least affordable city to buy property, with the average house price 11 times the annual pay of ambulance staff and 9.5 times a nurse's earnings.

It is difficult for key workers to buy the average house in significant parts of Scotland Martin Ellis Halifax chief economist

Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax, said key workers had been "hit hard" by the strength of the property market since 2001.

"Now it is difficult for key workers to buy the average house not only in the south of England but also in significant parts of the Midlands, northern England, Wales and Scotland," he said.

"It is important that the government continues to develop schemes to help key workers onto the property ladder and to ensure that these schemes are not confined to southern England.

Affordable housing

"The presence of sufficient key workers is critical to the smooth functioning of life in our cities and towns."

Seven out of 10 of the most affordable towns for key workers in the UK are in Scotland, the survey said.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the findings confirmed key workers faced difficulty in getting a foot on the property ladder throughout the UK.

The report says key workers find houses more expensive than in 2001

Dr Beverly Malone, general secretary of the RCN, said: "It's really important that nurses can afford to live near their place of work if we are to keep them within the profession doing what really matters - caring for patients.

"It would be a disaster for the health service if we drive out key workers from our cities and towns because there is no suitable and affordable housing."

She said the RCN welcomed the government's HomeBuy scheme to help first-time buyers onto the property ladder.

ELPG, a group of leading property solicitors, said key workers struggling to buy properties should consider setting up a co-purchase agreement.

Spokesman Steve Spence said they could borrow as much as they could and find a parent or other relative loaning spare money to make up the difference.