South Essex folk are streets ahead of the rest of the country in recognising the value of owning your own home.

More residents in Castle Point are owner occupiers than anywhere else in the country.

Rochford district, including Rayleigh, comes in close behind at fourth in the UK.

The national average for owner occupation is 70 per cent.

The figure for Castle Point is 89 per cent while for Rochford it is 86 per cent, the Halifax research shows.

The study says areas with very high rates of owner occupation tend to have house prices well above the regional average.

Southend also has above the average number of owner occupiers, at 73 per cent. Basildon's figure is 71 per cent.

Southend Council leader Howard Briggs said: "I'm always happy if people can own their houses. It is a more satisfactory and stable way for people to live but there also has to be rented acommodation.

"In a busy town like Southend where people come and go quite frequently you need a rental market."

Norman Bambridge, a member of Castle Point's health and housing committee, said: "The high proportion of home owners in the borough is a good as it shows people are looking after their futures in terms of property.

"However a spin off of this is that there is very little rented accommodation or affordable housing available for the younger generation who are looking to get on the property ladder.

"It's important that we continue to try and provide more affordable housing for these people in the borough."