The areas where house prices rose fastest in 2017

Homeowners in the East Midlands and Wales saw the value of their properties rise faster than anywhere else in the UK last year, according to the UK's largest mortgage lender.

Both areas saw prices rise by 8% during 2017, the Halifax said.

Strong price gains were also seen in the West Midlands, where prices went up by 5%, and the South West, with a rise of 4.9%.

Prices in London rose by just 1%, the slowest increase for six years.

Scotland saw a small fall of 0.2%, while values in Northern Ireland fell by 5.6%.

Earlier this week, the Halifax said that prices across the UK as a whole rose by 2.7% in 2017, less than half the growth rate of 2016.

Four areas still have lower prices than a decade ago: Northern Ireland, Scotland, the north of England and Wales.

The best performing regions over the past 10 years include London, where prices have risen by 45% since 2007, and the South East, where values have risen by 32%.

Earlier research by the Halifax suggested that Cheltenham was the town which saw the largest price increase in 2017. Homes in the Gloucestershire town increased in value by 13% during the year.

Perth saw the largest fall, with a decline of 5.3%.