The countryside is becoming a preserve of the rich as people are being priced out of the housing market.

Sixty-one per cent of people living in rural parts of East and West Sussex would have to commit at least half their earnings to cover their mortgage, double the number of town and city dwellers in the same position.

In the South East as a whole, where the problem is more acute than anywhere else in England, the average price of a rural house is about £170,000.

The Countryside Agency's annual State of the Countryside report said rural people faced being forced out of their communities.

Agency chairman Ewen Cameron said the watchdog's mortgage index showed homes in rural areas were far less affordable than in towns and cities.

He said: "We have been highlighting for some time the lack of affordable homes in rural England.

"This is a major hurdle for new households and those on less than average wages.

"The countryside could become the preserve of the wealthy, threatening the whole nature of rural communities and viability of services."

Only 14 per cent of homes in rural areas are owned by councils or housing associations, compared with 23 per cent in towns and cities.

East Sussex County Council, which is spending £900,000 during the next three years on rural regeneration, highlighted schemes such as shared ownership as a way of trying to solve the problem.

Council leader Peter Jones said: "The cost of housing is a real issue, particularly for young folk trying to get started in life.

"It has been a real concern for a lot of small towns and villages for a long time. They tend to lose a lot of their young people. Can farms be sustained? Can business be sustained?"