Gravesend has been named the fifth most affordable commuter town in the south east, according to new research.

Commercial property advisers CBRE looked at average house prices, the cost of a season ticket to London and the average journey time by train to the capital to come up with a top 10.

Gravesend was the only Kent town to make the list, with Basildon in Essex named number one.

The town on the Thames has an average house price of £203,995, with a season ticket costing around £3,816 for an average 24 minute journey to London.

But not everyone agrees Gravesend is a cheap place to live if you want to make the daily trip to the capital.

Unemployed Nigel Hawkins, 39, had just got back from an interview in London for a building site supervisor’s job when News Shopper spoke to him outside Gravesend station.

News Shopper:

Nigel Hawkins

Nigel, who lives in Orlick Road, said: "I wouldn’t say it’s affordable.

"The train fares are expensive – it costs me £98 a week to get from here to Charing Cross and back for work.

"There’s a lot of unemployment and too many people moving into Gravesend.

"The problem is the shortage of housing and people moving out of London and into the suburbs. Everybody’s coming to Gravesend."

Ian Newsom, 67, is a retired electronics customer care worker living in Red Street in Southfleet, who says he struggles to make ends meet as a pensioner.

News Shopper:

Ian Newsom

He said: "It’s more affordable than west Kent and places like Tunbridge Wells but I think prices are starting to creep up a little bit.

"Someone like me can never afford to buy as I’m a pensioner on a very basic income."

Joan Britton agrees housing is still a bit dear for those looking to get on the ladder but that is partly because of Gravesend’s good transport links.

The 72-year-old care home nurse, of St Gregory’s Crescent, said: "I think housing is a bit expensive.

"I’m quite lucky because I own my own house but I wouldn’t want to be buying a house now.

News Shopper:

Tara Longhurst (left) and Beccy White

"Gravesend is expensive because it’s got such good routes through to London."

But Bronte Nursery classroom assistants Tara Longhurst, 24, and Beccy White, 23, think Gravesend is just right as a commuter town because it is not as busy as London while being more lively than other towns in Kent.

Tara, of Cerne Road, said: "London is too manic with too many people which gets on my nerves.

"I think Gravesend is just right."

Beccy, of Snelling Avenue, added: "I don’t know why you’d live somewhere like Sevenoaks, it’s in the middle of the styx."

Top 10 most affordable commuter towns in the south east

1. Basildon

2. Luton

3. Harlow

4. Braintree

5. Gravesend

6. Crawley

7. Stevenage

8. Reading

9. Southend

10. Hatfield