TURMOIL in the oil and gas market has meant that Aberdeen has had the worst house price growth over the last year.

Prices fell by 6.9 per cent to reach £203,425 this year, making it the area in the UK with the weakest house price growth in 2016, according to Halifax.

It said that the fall in oil prices over the last few years has had an impact on demand for homes in the area.

Falkirk and Inverness also experienced a decline, coming in at third and fourth respectively in a list of the ten worst areas.

However Martin Ellis, a housing economist at Halifax, said that these declines were "modest" in comparison to that of Aberdeen.

Prices in Falkirk fell by 1.1 per cent to reach £141,182, while prices in Inverness fell by 0.9 per cent to reach £180,056.

Mr Ellis said: "A few towns have experienced price falls, with the biggest in Aberdeen.

"On the north east coast of Scotland, it is highly dependent on the North Sea oil and gas sector.

"The substantial fall in oil prices in the past couple of years has hit the industry hard with adverse impact on demand for homes in the area. Price declines elsewhere have been modest."

Bangor in Northern Ireland was second area on the list with a fall of 1.7 per cent to reach £154,613, the survey of towns and cities found.

Other areas to make the top ten were: Blackpool, Londonderry, Stockton-on-Tees, Liverpool, Wolverhampton, and Grimsby.

At the other end of the spectrum, Luton was identified as top-performing town across the UK for house price growth over the last year.

Property values jumped by nearly a fifth (19.4 per cent ) over 2016 and are nearly £42,000 higher typically than a year ago.

The 10 areas with the highest house price rises over the last year were all in London or the South East of England, with Barking and Dagenham, Dunstable, Basildon, Tower Hamlets and Watford also on the list.

Mr Ellis added: "Most of the areas that have seen the biggest house price rises during 2016 are either within close commuting distance of the capital or in outer London.

"Demand in these areas has risen as substantial property price rises in central London over the last few years have caused increasing numbers of people to seek property in more affordable areas."