HIGH housing costs in Winchester are pricing public-sector workers out of the market, councillors have warned.

It has raised the spectre of schools working four-day weeks because of a lack of staff and creating huge recruitment problems for police and the NHS, too.

City council members called on the government to offer Winchester weighting on wages, similar to that paid in London.

The idea was first proposed in the wake of an announcement by the county that it was having difficulty recruiting teachers for the district. Now it aims to extend the idea to all key public-sector workers.

Teachers have a starting salary of £15,145, police start on £17,133 and nurses begin on £14,890. With weighting, they would receive three or four per cent on top.

Council leader John Steel complained at a meeting on Wednesday of a lack of coherent housing policy from the government, particularly in affordable-homes provision. "The average cost of housing across the board in Winchester is £40,000 above the national average. In order to be able to afford even a simple flat, you need an income of £20,000 minimum," he said.

The weighting proposal received widespread support.