RICHMONDSHIRE MP William Hague has been urged to press for more money to be invested in the Yorkshire Dales.

The request comes after four wards in the Dales were listed among the 50 most deprived in the UK.

The 2004 Index of Multiple Deprivation shows Addlebrough ward, in upper Wensleydale, as 21st worst in the UK, with Reeth and Arkengarthdale 23rd, Swaledale 30th and Penhill 41st.

The index ranks wards by measuring housing affordability, levels of homelessness and access to services.

Councillors attending North Yorkshire Council Richmondshire area committee, in Middleham, on Monday, voted unanimously to ask the former Tory leader to lobby the Government for more money to improve services.

John Blackie, the leader of Richmondshire Council, said: "We will also be writing to the chief executive of the Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Development Agency.

"To bridge the gap between low wages and high house prices we need to raise the quality of employment and invest in the infrastructure.

"Unfortunately, the organisation does not see investing in rural areas as a priority, but I think they have a duty to invest.

"Unless there is a change and we have higher wages, I can't see how young people will ever be able to afford a house."

Other wards featured in the index include Hawes and High Abbotside, which is 171st, Lower Wensleydale is ranked 55th, Gillingwest 60th, Newsham and Epleby 76th and Bolton Castle 134th.

There are more than 32,000 council wards in the UK.