WEALTHIER people are being sought for council houses to stop estates becoming "ghetto-ised".

Those who have a job or "friends and family" in the area will be given priority when looking for a home.

Town hall bosses are scrapping their current "needs based" allocations policy in favour of a new system to create more mixed estates. They say the current policy no longer meets the needs of existing and prospective tenants.

Vacant properties will be advertised each week with criteria that new tenants would have to meet, such as employment or connection with the area. The home would go to the person who meets the standards and has been on the housing register the longest.

Quotas could ultimately be set for re-letting houses to "people who can make a contribution to the community". This, say bosses, would help build "sustainable and balanced" communities.

People who have already been thrown out for being "nuisance neighbours" might be excluded from the register.

The system still allows for immediate rehousing of those with acute or urgent needs, but perhaps only temporarily and as one solution among a package of care options.