THE number of cheaper homes being built has “collapsed” across most of the region under the Coalition, Labour is warning.

A meagre 350 “affordable homes” for purchase – normally bought through shared ownership - were built in the last financial year, official figures show.

That number is a staggering 52 per cent fall on the 730 that were constructed in 2009-10, the last year before David Cameron entered Downing Street.

And the decline was even sharper in some areas, including County Durham - where just 40 affordable homes for ownership were built in 2013-14, a two-thirds plunge in just four years.

Hartlepool (down from 70 to 20), Middlesbrough (from 70 to 10), Stockton-on-Tees (from 110 to 20) and Sunderland (from 110 to 50) saw similar collapses.

Parts of North Yorkshire saw increases – Hambleton (from 10 to 20), Ryedale (from 20 to 40) and Scarborough (from 10 to 20) – but from very low starting points.

Emma Reynolds, Labour’s housing spokeswoman, said the statistics showed the Government was “failing” people who are struggling to get a home of their own.

Labour recently promised to guarantee local first-time buyers up to 50 per cent of newly-built homes in fast-track “housing growth areas”, to be designated by local councils.

But housing minister Brandon Lewis insisted the Government’s efforts to boost housebuilding were “delivering real results”.

He said: “The net supply of new homes is up ten per cent over the past year and over half a million new homes have been delivered since 2010.”

The Government was sharply criticised for axing many housing programmes when they came to power, triggering a dramatic drop in the number of homes built.

Meanwhile, local councils remain barred from borrowing money to build homes, as the Government relies on the private sector to step in.

Labour also said the number of affordable homes for rent built last year was just two per cent of those needed – meaning it would take 55 years to clear waiting lists, at current rates.

Meanwhile, the ‘Right-to-Buy’ scheme has been criticised because too many rented homes are being lost and not replaced, as ministers promised.

The Northern Echo revealed that 1,359 council tenants have bought their homes in the North-East and North Yorkshire since April 2012, but just 21 replacements are under construction.

Ms Reynolds added: “The truth is the Tories have presided over the lowest level of house building in peacetime since the 1920s.

“The number of affordable homes for aspiring first-time buyers has collapsed by a half. If you’re one of the many struggling to get a home of your own, the Tories are failing you.”