Workers in coastal communities in the east are among those receiving on average the lowest salaries in Britain, a newly-published report has revealed.

North Norfolk and Waveney feature in the top 10 local authorities with the lowest mean employee pay in Britain.

On average the mean gross salary for British employees is £28,442 - yet North Norfolk, at £20,122, and Waveney, at 20,385, are left trailing behind.

The figures, which appeared as part of the Social Market Foundation's 'Living on the edge: Britain's coastal communities' report, places North Norfolk as the third lowest local authority and Waveney the seventh.

Published on Monday, September 4 the report investigates the belief that the economies of coastal towns have performed poorly in comparison with the rest of the country.

This is thought to be due to the structural, economic and social problems surrounding the decline of domestic tourism in the UK.

Nine of the 20 local authorities with the lowest mean employee pay were shown to be coastal communities, with Scarborough topping the list at £19,925.

Cromer's Chamber of Trade reacted to the report by saying: 'Ultimately more earnt is potentially more spare disposable income that could be spent on treats, meals out and experiences, all things that Cromer does very well.'

A spokesman for Waveney District Council highlighted some of the work being undertaken to buck the trend.

He said: 'The council is fully aware of the challenges which the district faces and the issues of coastal communities more widely.

'However, Waveney has enjoyed a steady increase in tourism numbers, spend and overall value of tourism in the last few years.

'5.3m trips were taken in the area last year, £222m was spent here by tourists and the total value of tourism to the district is around £300m. However, there is still work to be done and we are working on increasing the volume and value of tourism.'

The spokesman said the Lowestoft Coastal Community Team published its Seafront Strategy last year, which aims to enhance the existing built and natural and serve as a catalyst for regeneration and 'put the area back on the map for regional, national and European visitors'.