WILTSHIRE has more than 25 per cent more two-car families than the national average.

New figures show that more than 70,800 households in the county - or 40.1 per cent- have two or more cars at their disposal. Nationwide, the percentage is 29 per cent.

Wiltshire people are also more fortunate than others across the country in terms of the number of households with no car - 16.1 per cent against 27 per cent nationally.

The figures were compiled by the GMB trade union, using information from the censuses of 1991 and 2001, in a bid to find out how many people used various methods of getting to work.

It was also found that almost 77,400 of Wiltshire households, 43.8 per cent, had one car, in line with the national average.

In the 10 years from 1991, the number of Wiltshire households with two cars increased by nearly half and the number with no car at all fell by nearly 12 per cent.

GMB spokesman Paul Kenny said: "Today's increasing services-based economy requires more flexibility in terms of shift systems and work patterns.

"This means that households with two earners increasingly need two cars to go about their business. Unless public transport is radically improved, with more routes, the trend in the growth of car ownership will continue."