Property prices in London have reached ten times average earnings, making it the second least affordable city in the UK, topped only by Oxford.

Home affordability in cities is at its worst levels nationally since 2008, with properties typically costing nearly seven times earnings, a report has found.

The study, which looked at 61 cities across the UK, identified Oxford as the UK's least affordable city, with homes there costing nearly 11 times average local earnings.

London came second with Winchester, Cambridge and Chichester also in the top five. The capital has has seen the fastest house price growth over the last five years, with a 57% uplift taking average prices to £467,001.

Stirling in Scotland was identified as the UK's most affordable city, with the average house price there put at 3.7 times local earnings.

St Albans in Hertfordshire, a popular city with London commuters, recorded the biggest price rise of any UK city over the past decade, with a 65% gain over the last 10 years. The average house price in St Albans is now £515,899.

Lloyds said the average house price-to-earnings ratio in London disguises considerable variations across the borough, with central London boroughs being significantly less affordable than Greater London as a whole.

Lloyds used house prices from its banking group's database as well as Office for National Statistics average earnings figures for the research.