NELSON is the most affordable town for first-time buyers in the UK, according to a survey by a leading estate agent.

An average home in the Pendle town was selling for £108,230, research by the Halifax Bank discovered.

Last year the same distinction went to the Scottish town of Lochgelly, where homes were just over £97,000. Now there are no places across England, Scotland and Wales with an average price below £100,000.

In Accrington, the average price is recorded as £127,000, ranking it 13th most affordable, and Blackburn comes in at 26th, with an average house price of around £132,000.