POOR broadband is making people relocate from the country to towns and cities, a new report has found.

The National Housing Federation (NHF) has warned that slow connection speeds are undermining country living.

Its report warns that young people especially are leaving the countryside because of poor facilities.

A lack of broadband is also discouraging businesses from setting up in the countryside, reducing employment and adding to the rural exodus, the NHF report says.

The report found that young people are frequently leaving their countryside homes for university and are not returning.

This meant countryside populations are reducing and the average age in rural regions is increasing.

“By 2039, the number of working age households in England is projected to fall by one per cent in rural areas while increasing in urban areas by nearly 11 per cent,” the report said.

Nearly 50 per cent of those living in the country would be aged 65 or over in that time, the report found.

A lack of affordable housing and poor public transport is only making the problem worse, it says.

David Orr, chief executive at the federation, said: “Rural life as we know it is disappearing fast.

“Families and young people wanting to settle, work and grow in rural England are being priced out of areas they’ve known all their lives.”

Housing associations were offering some cause for optimism, Mr Orr said, and he appealed for more affordable housing schemes in rural areas.

He added: “Just a handful of high quality and affordable new homes can transform rural communities, and ensure our villages and market towns can thrive for generations to come.”