House prices in the county are falling faster than anywhere else in the country.

New figures produced by the property website Hometrack shows the average price fell by 1.5 per cent in the last three months, although values were up 4.2 per cent on the year as a whole.

Richard Donnell, Hometracks' director of research, said: "The second half of the year has seen a major reversal in confidence on the back of higher interest rates and concerns over the outlook for the financial markets.

"Many would-be buyers have stepped back from the market and the greatest short term casualty has been lower levels of market activity."