Households in the richest areas of Sussex have almost double the income of those in the poorest.

The vast gap in wealth has been identified in a new report which includes the average income of households in every post code area in Britain.

The Wealth Of The Nation 2006 report shows that households in the RH10 7 postal area in Crawley earn an average of £47,000 per year.

The poorest earners are in the TN40 1 post code in East Bexhill, where the average household income is £24,000.

Keith Standring, Rother district councillor for the Bexhill Sackville Ward said the area's high proportion of retired residents gave a misleading slant to the figures.

He said: "Places such as Crawley have a much younger population and they have access to major employment areas such as Gatwick, London and Brighton, where higher salaries can be found. Bexhill does not have that."

The report, by marketing company CACI Information Solutions, shows that the five wealthiest areas in Sussex are in the West and the four poorest are in the East.

The top earners were Crawley, Haywards Heath, Horsham and Billingshurst, all averaging more than £44,000 per household.

The lowest incomes were in East Bexhill and areas of Hailsham, St Leonards and Langney in Eastbourne which all averaged £25,000.

However, even Sussex's lowest income areas were significantly higher earners than Britain's poorest post code zones.

Households in Darnall, in Sheffield, earn an average of £16,000 per year.

The wealthiest homes were in Epsom, Surrey, with an average income of £59,000 per year.

The report showed a difference of £14,000 between average household incomes in the richest and poorest parts of Brighton and Hove.

The city's wealthiest earners were in the BN36 post code around Hove Park, with an average household income of £43,000, and the poorest were in BN1 7, around Hollingbury, with £29,000.

Households in Withdean, Preston Park, West Dene, Aldrington and Seven Dials were all among the highest earners. Whitehawk, Hangleton, Upper Bevendean and Portslade were among the lowest.

The report said that income differences meant residents had different lifestyles.

While wealthier people were likely to join sailing clubs, do yoga and listen to BBC radio, poorer people were more likely to join angling clubs, play ice hockey and read the TV Times.

A spokeswoman for Brighton and Hove City Council said it was working hard to narrow the gap in incomes and would continue to try to attract business, development and visitors to improve the economy.

She said: "We offer all the help we can to ensure the economies of the less well off areas of the city grow. We are committed to several regeneration projects across the city, for example eb4U, which has significantly lowered unemployment in East Brighton.

"We have seen an upward economic trend in these areas."

She said it was working hard to narrow the gap in incomes and would continue to try to attract business.