The population of England is set surge by more than four million in the next decade as parts of the south prepare to see the number of inhabitants swell by up to a quarter, official projections show.

New estimates, drawn up to help councils and the NHS plan ahead, expose the full impact of years of mass immigration on top of a revolution in life expectancy.

Immigration is set to account for almost half of the expected population expansion, which would also official rank London as one of the world’s megacities – passing the 10 million mark - for the first time.

The dramatic figures - click here for an interactive map - published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), come ahead of the latest immigration tally - the last before the referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union.

They are likely to be seized on by Brexit campaigners as further evidence that David Cameron cannot meet his target to reduce net migration to "tens of thousands".

Chris Grayling, the eurosceptic Leader of the Commons, told The Telegraph that the levels of migration "will change the face of our country forever"

Campaigners for tougher curbs on immigration said another decade of record-level population growth would “make a bad situation a whole lot worse”.