Londoners 'are most lonely in UK'

The report said Britain had become more segregated since the late 1960s

London has consistently had the highest number of lonely people in the UK for nearly 40 years, according to a major piece of BBC-commissioned research.

Up to 2001, nearly 30% of Londoners suffered from isolation - Northern Ireland had the lowest number at 21%, the Sheffield University report found.

London also has among the highest percentages of "breadline poor" and "asset wealthy" people in the country.

The report concluded Britain had become more segregated since the late 1960s.

Unmarried adults

The Changing UK report aimed to discover how neighbourhoods have changed over the past 40 years, based on census information and other statistics.

It found the UK had become far more polarised, in terms of age, economic status and other factors, over the last four decades.

London is the only region characterised by high percentages of both breadline poor and asset wealthy households

Changing UK report

The team of academics said people living in the capital suffered greater feelings of isolation and weaker feelings of belonging.

Researchers put this down to the high concentration of unmarried adults, people living on their own, inhabitants who have moved to their current address in the last year and the numbers of people privately renting their accommodation.

The report suggests Londoners' loneliness could, in part, be created by the gap between rich and poor in the city.

In 2001, London was home to the highest levels of people living below the relative poverty line, with 32% of Londoners categorised in this class.

Similarly, 32% of people in London were described as being asset-wealthy, researchers found.

"London is the only region characterised by high percentages of both breadline poor and asset wealthy households and by a very small, in relative terms, percentage of households that are in the middle," the report found.

"Forty years ago there was a wider social mix of population in terms of age, lifestyle, work and social class," the report said.