CAMPAIGNERS claimed last night that a North-East assembly could help stem the growth of a widening North- South divide.

A report released yesterday by Sheffield University, based on analysis of the 2001 census, found people in the South are still likely to be wealthier, healthier and better educated that those in the North.

The study found the "unprecedented" migration of skilled workers from the North to London between 1991 and 2001 has resulted in a divided Britain.

The boom in banking and the financial sector - which now employs 1.7 million more people than it did ten years ago - has been so dramatic it has altered the country's demographic balance.

But skilled trade workers, based almost exclusively in the North, suffered the biggest decline of any sector over the same period - with a 500,000 drop in the workforce.

Campaigners for a North-East regional assembly said it would make a real impact on the region's economic status if devolution got the go ahead.

Yes4thenortheast chairman Professor John Tomaney said: "An assembly with powers over job creation and economic development would be able to make a real impact. It would be able to nurture the talent we have here in the region and encourage home grown business."

Easington, in County Durham, came second in a national list of 20 places with the fewest high-income homes in the country.

Professor Ray Hudson, of Durham University, said Easington was a classic example of an area hit by economic hardship.