FARMLAND prices in the North-East have risen faster than anywhere else in the country.

A combination of lifestyle buyers and mostly arable farmers - including some from Denmark and Ireland - are largely responsible for the 52 per cent rise in the first half of the year.

According to a survey by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), prices in Yorkshire and Humberside rose by 22 per cent.

David Coulson, of Broadley and Coulson, of Crook, County Durham, is the RICS North-East rural spokesman.

He said: "Farmers are showing keen interest in buying whole farms and blocks of land. The increase in arable prices and the biofuel prospects has helped to lift demand."

In Yorkshire and Humberside, arable farmers, buoyed by the huge rise in grain prices, are buying more land.

Andrew Fallows, of Carter Jonas estate ageents, in York, said larger commercial units had met strong interest from foreign buyers as well as large farming businesses.

The foreign farmers are investing here, as land is still among the cheapest in Europe.

RICS says the combination of different buyers has pushed prices to unprecedented levels.

Londoners, armed with record city bonuses have continued to drive demand for residential farmland.

In the North-East, the average price for arable land rose to £9,267 per hecatre (£3,750/acre) and pasture fetched £7,413 per hectare (£3,000/acre).

Yorkshire and Humberside prices averaged £9,205 per hecatre (£3,725/acre) for arable and £7,413 per hecatre (£3,000/acre) for pasture.