The restrictions are set to be approved at a meeting on Monday

On average one council house in the county is sold every day of the year but they are not being replaced.

Under the proposed changes the owner of a council house would have to sell it to someone who had lived or worked in the area for more than three years.

For 10 years after a sale the council would also have first refusal to buy the property back.

The restrictions on the right to buy are designed to help local people by giving them priority Robin Staines

A similar scheme in Gwynedd proved controversial earlier this year when a widow was stopped earlier from selling her ex-council house near Machynlleth to a couple from England.

Cilla Connor was told she could not accept a �240,000 offer for her home and was forced to put in back on the market. A new buyer has still not been found.

But council officers in Carmarthenshire say such restrictions are needed in rural areas of the county.

The authority's head of housing, Robin Staines, said there were 1,612 people waiting for a council home outside Carmarthenshire's main towns.

He said in April 2001 the council had 3,283 homes in rural wards but because of the Right to Buy scheme the number had fallen to 2,994 in July 2004.

"The restrictions on the right to buy are designed to help local people by giving them priority," he said.

"The lack of affordable housing is a major issue."

Cilla Connor was forced to put her home back on the market

Long-standing tenants have an opportunity to buy their council homes at a discount. For some it is the only way of getting on the property ladder.

The average price of a house in Carmarthenshire is close to �120,000 while the average household income is �22,500.

The council's executive board will consider introducing the rules with immediate effect at a meeting on Monday.

Mr Staines added: "We are also working with our housing association partners to try to ensure we use the social housing grants as effectively as we can, and to provide more rented accommodation.

"We are looking at a whole range of affordable housing options, both to rent and buy."

Mrs Connor bought her house in Gwynedd with her husband in 1982, when it was valued at just over �15,000. They had already rented it for four years.

When she was told she could not sell it to the English couple she said: "I feel as though the council is tying me to this house.

"This is a breach of my human rights and I feel as though I'm being forced to live here against my will."