A growing elderly population could threaten future council services, a new report has revealed.

The figures from Dorset County Council's State of Dorset report for Population and Older People have revealed that almost a third (28 per cent of the population) in the county are aged over 65, higher than the UK average of 18 per cent.

In the report, project support officer Jamie Roberts said that the native population of the county was in decline however migration a high rate of migration from other parts of the UK helped to counteract this decline making it an overall net increase of 3,400 people.

In total, 17,500 people moved out and 20,400 people moved in to the county, 500 of which were from outside of the UK while 15-24-year-olds were the biggest group in decline.

The report noted that the population of Dorset's elderly people will grow by 0.9 per cent (approximately 21,000 people) per year with a fifth of those expected to be aged over 85.

Alongside this, the life expectancy is above the average across most of the county council area, at 81.2 years for men and 84.7 for women with the exception of Weymouth and Portland which falls slightly below.

As a result, the council have warned a number of difficulties likely to arise from the ageing population including more family members finding themselves acting as informal carers noting the increase in the number of unpaid carers in Dorset which had increased 17 per cent since 2001 to 49,300.

As well as this, the council also noted that demand for formal care workers will also grow admitting that it was already very difficult to recruit people especially in rural parts of the county.

A Dorset County Council spokesman, said: "Dorset has been working with councils across the South West to promote caring as a career under the banner 'Proud to Care'.

"We are encouraging people to plan ahead and think about their future needs via its 'Prepare to Live Better' campaign, so more people can live independently for longer.

"As older people live longer, feelings of loneliness and isolation can develop when they are supported to remain in their own homes so the availability of housing for younger people can also be reduced.

"The county council produces population projections going forwards 25 years to anticipated housing need and inform local plans, including demand for specialist provision for older people."