YOUNG Dorset couples are so concerned at the battle they face for their first home that they are taking their worries to the Samaritans.

This comes on a day when a new survey revealed it takes more than five times their total income if they want to set up their first home in Weymouth and Portland.

A Weymouth Samaritans spokesman said: "It is an issue which does come to us often as something which is pushing someone over the edge into crisis.

"People can only stand just so much and an issue like this can be something which tips them over the edge. It can also have a big impact on relationships because of the stress it generates.

"Couples may have young children yet to be able to afford a home they are both still having to go out to work, a situation that creates stress since both can be tired and under pressure and may face relationship problems.

"This pressure of finding a home is affecting the whole structure of families because people are also choosing to have children later to concentrate on getting a home or on getting their financial situation straight. We help people talk about the problem and sort out what they want to do about it."

A combination of low wages and soaring property prices makes the borough one of the least affordable districts in the country for homebuyers aged 20 to 39, according to figures compiled for independent charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

The study revealed that the average total earned income for 5,560 working households in Weymouth and Portland was £29,449.

But the average home costs 5.22 times more than that at £153,635 making the borough the 38th least affordable area in the country.

Weymouth and Portland housing spokesman Coun Mike Goodman said many youngsters moved away because they could not afford a home.

He added: "It has always been a bit of a nightmare for young couples to buy a home in Weymouth and Portland.

"Many local jobs are low wage and many people moving to Dorset have a lot of disposable cash. The two together mean that young people are being priced out of the market.

"We as a local authority are doing our best to encourage inward investment which in time will help with the employment market. We also have to make sure that there is an adequate supply of affordable housing."

The council's property head Tony Beeson said: "This latest Foundation report only highlights a problem that the council is extremely aware of.

"We are working very hard to try and do everything we can to create affordable housing for local people."

The situation is worse elsewhere in the county with Christchurch ranked the second worst place in the country after research showed that young people would need 6.71 times their income to afford a home there at an average of £191,945.

Three more Dorset sites appeared in the worst top 30 with Purbeck ranked 11th at 5.86 times income, Bournemouth 16th at 5.69 and East Dorset 29th at 5.35.

The figures are bad news for young people across Dorset because Professor Steve Wilcox of the University of York, who carried out the study, said it was rare for mortgage lenders to advance loans to individuals at ratios of more than 4.1 times their annual income.

And he added that less than a quarter of all loans advanced to first-time buyers were for more than 3.75 times their annual income.

He said: "These latest figures comparing house prices with earnings demonstrate why even the most modest two-bedroom properties in many parts of the south of England are priced beyond the reach of many young working households."

He added that is was also clear the affordability issues in Dorset had worsened in the past year relative to London and the south east because of greater house price rises.