A large number of homeowners and potential housebuyers are unaware of risks posed to them by flooding, new figures from Abbey have indicated.

Data from the home insurance provider has suggested that 39.9 million adults would be discouraged from purchasing a home if it was located in a high-risk flood area.

Over half of all homeowners (23.9 million people) indicated that they made no checks to find out whether their current home was located in an area at high risk of flooding before moving in and some 6.2 million are still unaware of whether their property is at risk or not.

Spokesperson for Abbey Insurance Tony Beckwith commented: "Six million people assumed they would have been told before they moved into the house if it was at risk, but actually the responsibility lies with the person buying the house to find out.

In other news that may be of interest to first-time buyers, deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon recently stated that the rate of new house building in Scotland must be upped as it is currently inadequate.