The Government’s flagship savings scheme to help first-time buyers appears to be failing due to rising house prices.

Research by the BBC, based on two-bedroom homes, found 28% of areas in England exceed the price cap for a Help to Buy Isa bonus.

The Help to Buy Isa was introduced in December giving first-time buyers a tax-free savings account to save for a deposit that is then boosted by a 25% government bonus of up to £3,000.

But the money can only be used on first-time buyer properties worth up to £250,000 nationwide or £450,000 in London.

The BBC analysis found that outside London, two-bedroom homes exceeded the cap in 28% of areas.

Average asking prices exceeded the cap in 67% of areas in the south-east, 65% in London, 61% in the south and 53% in the east.

Ferryhill in County Durham had the cheapest average asking price at just over £45,000 while the most expensive area outside London was East Molesey in Surrey where the average price is £551,025.

Looking at other types of property, in London an average two-bedroom flat exceeds the cap in two-thirds of boroughs, while one-bedroom flats exceed the cap in a third of boroughs, according to the BBC.

Only 10% of average three-bedroom homes in London are below the cap, the research found, while outside London, the highest average price advertised for a one-bedroom flat was in Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire at £408,000.