THURROCK is the most affordable place to live for people commuting into London according to property website Zoopla.

Zoopla combined railway season ticket and mortgage costs to work out the best-value locations for commuters living within an hour's travel time of London.

Zoopla found Grays was best for London commuters with a combined annual cost of £15,008 for a mortgage and season ticket.

Laura Howard, consumer expert at Zoopla, said: "The past decade has seen significant property price growth in prime London commuter belt towns but, despite this, our analysis still identifies pockets across South East England that represent affordable value for commuters."

Hamptons International, a leading residential property company, has already put Thurrock in the top five as a place London's first-time buyers move to. The company said that 39 per cent of all homebuyers in Thurrock are first-time buyers moving out of the capital.