YOUNG people in Salisbury are ditching the city to move north because it is too expensive to live here.

With the cost of housing rocketing across the south over the past few years, first-time buyers are starting to look elsewhere.

Young professionals such as Debbie Greenwood (24) and her partner, Michael Winters (24), rent a flat in High Street but are planning to move to Derbyshire to buy their first home.

Debbie, who works for Friends Provident, said: "With the cost of rent so high in Salisbury, we can't afford to save for a mortgage, and with the council tax going up and up, it's crippling our savings.

"There seems to be nothing to help the 18-30 age-group and Salisbury could become a town of older people."

The couple said many of their friends were in the same boat - using their wages and credit cards to meet high living costs.

Salisbury and district chamber of commerce president Andrew Hodder said: "I do sympathise with this lady.

"The district council figure's indicate there has been a 23 per cent drop in the number of people aged between 19 and 29 living in the district council area in the past ten years.

"This must be partly attributable to high property prices, and wages in Salisbury are below those of our immediate neighbours.

"It is hoped that, with the development of Solstice Park, sunrise companies will be attracted, which will hopefully do something to alleviate the problems of low wages."

A spokeswoman for Salisbury district council said there were options open to young people who wanted to remain in the city.

"The council is very aware of this particular problem for the district and that there is a gulf between salaries and the cost of housing.

"We do stipulate that there must be a certain amount of affordable housing and developments.

"We haven't got a specific buy-to-let scheme ourselves but housing associations do provide them on behalf of the Wiltshire district and we can nominate people to that housing association.

"We recommend that couples go on the council website and register for things such as the shared ownership scheme and then, when they become available, we nominate them to relevant housing associations," she said.

The Journal wants to hear from other young people who are moving away because they cannot afford to buy property in Salisbury. If you have a story to tell, e-mail gaetana.prassede@salisburyjournal.co.uk.