Ayrshire has been ranked the most affordable place in the UK for first-time buyers, according to Halifax.

House prices were compared to average incomes to give a reflection of the affordability of housing in the area - and Ayrshire ranked highest with three areas in the top 20.

East and North Ayrshire were named the second most affordable spots for those about to get on the property ladder for the first time, with both areas coming in joint second, just behind Burnley in the North West of England.

South Ayrshire ranked eighteenth on the list, alongside Glasgow and Barnsley, Yorkshire and the Humber.

Here are the most affordable places in the UK for first-time buyers:

1. Burnley, North West

2. East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire, Scotland

4. Inverclyde and West Dunbartonshire, Scotland

6. Renfrewshire, Scotland

7. South Lanarkshire, Clackmannanshire and North Lanarkshire, Scotland

10. North Down and Ards, Northern Ireland 

11. Middlesbrough, North East, Doncaster, Yorkshire and the Humber, Fife, Scotland, Hyndburn, North West and Carlisle, North West

16. Falkirk, Scotland and County Durham, North East 

18. South Ayrshire, Scotland, Glasgow, Scotland and Barnsley, Yorkshire and the Humber

Overall, Scottish council areas accounted for 12 out of the top 20 areas listed across the UK.

Halifax, which used UK Finance figures for part of its calculations, said the overall number of first-time buyers in 2020 was down by more than 46,000, or 13 per cent, compared with 2019, with an estimated 304,657 first-time buyers in 2020.

This was the lowest number since 2015, when there were 298,080 first-time buyers.

Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales were the parts of the UK with the biggest decreases in first-time buyers last year, while London experienced the smallest fall.