THE North-South divide will widen as the South experiences some of the strongest economic growth in Western Europe, it was predicted last night.

One in every thousand workers in the Tees Valley and county Durham will lose their jobs each year if the situation continues, economic forecasting group Experian said.

The Northern regions will see the slowest growth in the UK, although none will fall into the bottom 20 regions in Western Europe.

London and the South-East can expect average growth of about three per cent until 2015, Experian predicts.

Across the North-East and North Yorkshire, annual growth will be well below the UK average of 2.5 per cent.

In County Durham and Teesside, growth will be only 1.8 per cent, in Northumberland and Tyne and Wear it will be 1.9 per cent and in North Yorkshire, annual growth is forecast to be 2.1 per cent.

That compares with average annual growth of 2.5 per cent for the UK as a whole, and 2.1 per cent predicted for Western Europe.

Inner London, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire and East Anglia are all predicted to be in the top 20 fastest-growing regions in Western Europe until 2015.

Experian also expects the South to outperform the North in employment growth.

Employment will remain static in Tyne and Wear, grow by 0.3 per cent in North Yorkshire and fall by 0.1 per cent a year in Durham and Teesside.

In the South, it is expected to grow by up to 0.7 per cent.