FIVE of the top 20 streets in the country with the lowest house prices can be found in Burnley and Pendle.

And seven streets from both boroughs came in the list of the top ten cheapest in the north west of England.

Figures found that Oxford Street in Brierfield has the sixth lowest house prices in the country with an average of around £29,8000, compared with the national average of £225,320.

Austin Street in Burnley was ranked 14th cheapest with house prices around £32,6000, while Athol Street North, Wood Street and Howsin Street, all in Burnley, had average house prices of under £40,000.

This placed them all in the top 20 nationally and means they are at least £86,000 cheaper than the average house price in East Lancashire, which is £126,000.

Ian Bythell, a partner for Petty estate agents in Burnley, said: "Most house prices in Burnley are lower than average nationally. The cheapest houses we are selling are going for around £45,000 but they tend to be bought by landlords who will then rent the houses out.

"There has been a real lull in the market recently because of the credit crunch and a lack of first time buyers which has contributed to lower than normal house prices.

"The streets mentioned from Burnley in the survey are of a lower than average value for Burnley but are subject to compulsory purchase orders which means the houses are only available to be bought by the council.

Burnley Council leader Coun Gordon Birtwistle believes that lower than average wages in Burnley contribute to low house prices,with workers in the town averaging wages of £19,656, lower than the nation average of £23,868.

He said:"People in Burnley generally get paid lower wages than other parts of the country which means that people cannot afford expensive houses.

"House prices in Burnley have been slowly creeping up over the years but the plus side of low house prices is that people can get a real bargain, bigger houses for less money.

"But I think that house prices will steadily increase in the area because of all the regeneration taking place in the town such as the new university campus opening and the work done by Elevate."

Brierfield ward councillor Naseem Shabnam said: "Cheap house prices mean that first time buyers are more likely to be able to afford a house but regeneration work in the area should hopefully bring up the prices soon."

Oxford Street in Brierfield was top of the cheapest house price list for the North West, according to from Mouseprice Annual Street Rankings 2008.

Other Burnley streets featuring in the top 10 for the north west were Altham Street and Elmwood Street.