HOUSE prices in the town are out of reach for Warrington people, a new report has claimed.

According to a study completed by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), prospective home owners face further difficulties as they try to get onto the property ladder.

The TUC analysis of average salaries and house prices shows that in 1997 the average house price in all areas throughout the region was less than four times the average local salary.

No area had a ratio above five – a level which the TUC believes puts home ownership out of reach for residents, particularly if they only have one salary.

But the ratio now stands at 5.77 per cent in Warrington.

North west TUC regional secretary Lynn Collins said: “We need to build more homes to get house prices back under control. With interest rates low, now is the perfect time for an ambitious programme of home-building, which would also help tackle local unemployment problems.

“But as more people give up on buying a home or decide they don’t want to get on the housing ladder, we also need a better deal for renters so that they don’t get clobbered by soaring rents.

“Housing affordability isn’t just about house prices though. Decent wages are just as important and there is a lot of ground to make up before we return to the kind of salaries that people were earning before the crash."