ASPIRING homeowners in the Northwest could need a deposit of as little as £1,900 to realise their dream of homeownership under new measures announced by the Government.

Thousands of people across the region could benefit from an extension to the shared ownership scheme, which allows people to part buy and part rent their home.

The Government is relaxing the criteria for those who can apply for the scheme from April, meaning 175,000 more people will be eligible for homeownership across the country.

It is part of a national crusade to help a million more people into homeownership, including investing £4 billion to build an additional 135,000 shared ownership homes.

Communities secretary Greg Clark said: "We're determined to ensure that hard-working people right across the country once again see home ownership as an achievable ambition to achieve.

"Shared ownership schemes have proved a real help to first-time buyers, but punitive restrictions have locked too many out of this opportunity to buy.

"These changes will open the door for thousands of people across the North West to own their own home."

Shared ownership has been available since the 1980s, but it has been restricted with local councils dictating who should be a priority based on a wide of range of factors from salary to profession to where the buyer comes from.

Anyone thinking about home ownership can find out what Government help they could get by answering a few simple questions at www.ownyourhome.gov.uk