The gap between house prices in Britain's major cities and average salaries is the widest since the financial crisis, new research has revealed.

Lloyds Bank found that the ratio of average house prices across 62 cities to average city earnings has reached 7.2, the highest level since 2007.

But while there are some cities in the UK where a home will cost more than 12 times the average salary in the location, in others it would only cost just under 4.5 times wages there.

It highlights the extent of how challenging it has become to afford a home in some parts of the country, with the average value of a city property in Britain reaching &248,233, up from &180,548 five years ago.

In comparison, average annual earnings in cities rose by 11 per cent to &34,366, during the same period.

Average affordability in cities has worsened with house prices rising as a multiple of average annual earnings from 5.8 in 2013 to 7.2 in 2018. 

Lloyds's research pinpointed the places in the UK where it is particularly difficult for local people to afford a home and those where that is a more achievable aim, by comparing average full-time wages in that city with the average house price.

The ratio stretches into double figures for the top seven least affordable cities, which are Oxford, Chichester, Winchester, Truro, Greater London, Bath and Cambridge.

Top of the list published by Lloyds Bank is Oxford where the average house price stands at &460,184 - 12.6 times the annual gross average salary in the city.

In Chichester, a home costs 11.5 times average earnings, with the figure stretching to 11.3 in Winchester, 11.1 in Truro and 10.3 in Greater London.

That stands in stark contrast to the most affordable locations Londonderry, in Northern Ireland, and Stirling, in Scotland, where a home costs 4.4 times average earnings.

They were followed by Newry, at 4.5 times wages, Bradford, in Yorkshire and Humberside, at 4.6 times and Lancaster, in the North West, at 4.7 times.

A North/South divide is evident, with northern cities and Scottish cities making up the remainder of the most affordable cities - including Belfast in Northern Ireland, Aberdeen and Perth - both in Scotland, and Sunderland in the North. 

The only exception is Hereford, which is ranked ninth most affordable, Stoke on Trent, in 16th position and Derby, in 20th spot.

Andrew Mason, mortgage products director at Lloyds Bank, said: 'Buying a home in UK cities remains challenging, as average house prices are outpacing wage growth.

'However the market has seen the number of first-time buyers at a high and home owners are still attracted to cities across the UK, in spite of rising costs.

'In the past five years, more than half of northern cities have made the UK top 10 in house price growth, whereas over a longer period, southern cities dominate.

Winchester has seen the biggest price rise of any city in the past decade with a gain of 93 per cent, from &281,224 in 2008 to &541,891 in 2018, compared to an average of 35 per cent.

Chichester is second with a rise of 76 per cent followed by Greater London at 69 per cent, Cambridge at 66 per cent, St Albans at 64 per cent and Oxford at 59 per cent.

Nine of the 10 top performers since 2008 are in the South of England with the exceptions being Lichfield in the West Midlands and Cardiff in Wales, both at 54 per cent.

In the past five years, Chichester has recorded the highest house price growth with a rise of 62 per cent, from &277,654 in 2013 to &450,023 in 2018.

Cambridge has the second highest increase in average house prices at 61 per cent, followed by Newcastle upon Tyne at 56 per cent, Ely at 54 per cent and Lichfield at 52 per cent.