Empty homes are becoming an increasingly visible issue in towns and cities across the UK.

A new study, conducted by real estate experts at Five Star Cash Offer, who specialise in buying properties directly from homeowners looking to sell quickly, has analysed housing data from 200 areas across the UK.

The experts used government figures to determine which areas had the highest number of vacant homes in relation to the total housing stock.

And Kingston borough has taken the top spot with 4.68% of the borough's 70,527 homes currently standing empty. The percentage equates to 3,303 vacant properties in total.

Liverpool and Middlesborough take second and third place.