Australia has long been a favourite destination for British émigrés - but recent figures indicate a dramatic fall in the number of Britons moving down under.

Over the past thirty years, an average 30,000 Britons have made the move every year - twice the number as moved to second-favourite destination Spain.

However, in 2017, that number dropped to just 19,000 down from a peak of 49,000 in 2006.

While researchers warn that these figures come with a high margin of error, the decline has been steady nonetheless.

The trend follows a wider slowdown in total British emigration, which fell by 38 per cent in the same period, with experts pointing to weak economic growth providing fewer incentives to move.

Meanwhile, Australia’s economy has remained one of the world's most buoyant giving it a strong currency that makes moving pricier.

The value of £1 has dropped from AUS$2.50 to AUS$1.85 since 2006, bringing an end to the days where you could upscale from a London flat to something more sizable in Sydney.

Paul Arthur, head of the Emigration Group, a company which assists Britons wishing to move to the Antipodeans, also identifies confusion around Brexit as a reason clients are hesitant to move.