EAST Lothian has been ranked as one of the least affordable areas for first time buyers across Scotland.

The Bank of Scotland's First Time Buyer Review looked at the house price to average earnings ratio for local authority areas across the United Kingdom.

East Dunbartonshire is the UK's most affordable area for first time buyers but, at the other end of the scale, East Lothian is the third worst, beating only the Western Isles and Angus.

Chris Gowland, Mortgages Director at Halifax, said: “There was a further increase in the number of first time buyers in the first half of the year, with the total exceeding 100,000 in the first six months of each year since 2012.

“This rise has been broadly in line with a general improvement in market activity and is likely to have been helped by Government measures including the Help to Buy scheme.

“Although numbers remain below their previous peaks and many potential first time buyers are facing escalating house prices and deposit sizes, record low mortgage rates continue to make buying seem a more attractive option than renting.”