With June and July providing endlessly dreary days of grey skies and deluges for some, more Brits than ever have been encouraged to seek property abroad, according to Yorkshire Bank research.

As many as 43 per cent of UK home-seekers would now consider buying abroad, with weather-weariness adding to gripes over UK property prices, high enough in some regions to price people out of their desired regions.

Reasons for looking abroad are split between lifestyle priorities like good weather and financial concerns - around 45 per cent of people said they would buy a property overseas as a holiday home, while 32 per cent would see it as an investment.

Meanwhile the age ranges of those looking to sunnier shores are very broad, with the research reporting 31 per cent of those surveyed were interested in retiring abroad, while at the other end of the spectrum 15 per cent saw foreign homes as a way onto the property ladder.

There remained however, a distance between expressing interest in property abroad and actually initiating the process, with concerns remaining as to the practicalities of a move.

A third of people were concerned about negotiating the purchase of a home in a foreign language, with an equal amount fearing their language ignorance would mean legal advisers taking advantage.

Spain remains a favourite with British holidaymakers for the simple procedures of property purchase in the country and the guaranteed sunny weather across much of the Iberian peninsula.