London is the most popular place for the people of Britain to move both to and away from, new research has revealed.

Brits on avereage live 100 miles away from where they were born, with London being the top destination for internal migrants.

However the capital also has the highest number of people moving away from it to elsewhere in the UK.

The research, run by family history site Ancestry, said this reflects the transient nature of London's population.

Its survey of 2,000 adults showed a huge shift in people prepared to leave their home area compared with 25 years ago.

The previous generation lived just five miles from where they born on average, compared with 100 miles now, the study showed.

People said they moved either for a job, better quality of life, remaining in a university area, or wanting to live in the country.

More than two-thirds of those who move say they will not return.

The survey showed that half of Britons live somewhere different from where they were born, while most of those who stay say they want to be close to their family.

Brad Argent, of Ancestry, said: "Immigration is something that we hear a lot about, but lesser known is the fascinating trend of people moving around within their own country which has seen a huge increase in the UK over the past few decades.

"With people moving around the country more and more, it means many have deep sense of belonging to places which may not only be different to where they live, but even places that they've never actually been to."