No one living in Britain is truly British, scientists have said after finding that the builders of Stonehenge were nearly totally replaced by European immigrants.

DNA analysis conducted on hundreds of prehistoric skeletons suggests that virtually no-one living in Britain today is truly British.

Neolithic farmers, responsible for building Stonehenge and other stone monuments, were almost completely displaced by immigrants from mainland Europe known as the Beaker people.

Over a period of several hundred years, the newcomers took over the British Isles and stamped their genetic identity on the resident population.

Professor Ian Armit, from the University of Bradford - who took part in the research, said: "The analysis shows pretty conclusively that migration of the Beaker people into Britain was more intense and on a larger scale than anyone had previously thought.

"Britain essentially has a whole new population after that period. We still don't know for sure what caused such a rapid genetic turnover - the available evidence doesn't necessarily suggest a violent invasion.

"There might have been environmental problems which caused a population decline among the indigenous population, or the Beaker migrants could have brought new diseases with them."