TWO Hampshire cities are among the most unaffordable in the country, a new report has found.

Winchester is the second least affordable place in the UK according to Lloyds Bank, based on house prices compared to local earnings.

And Southampton comes in just outside the top 10 in 11th place.

House prices in Winchester are more than 10 times the average local wage while in Southampton homes cost around seven-and-a-half times average earnings.

Andy Hulme, Lloyds Bank mortgages director, said: ''House price rises in the past two years have resulted in a deterioration in home affordability in the majority of UK cities, and generally widening the north/south affordability divide as the market has been strongest in the south.

''The UK's most successful cities economically have tended to see the strongest property price rises. Aberdeen, the country's oil and gas capital, has recorded the biggest gains over the past decade whilst London has been the top performer during the economic recovery.''

With an average price of £158,645, Stirling remains the UK's most affordable city, with a property there costing around 3.9 times gross average annual earnings.