The figures were released by the Office for National Statistics. Picture: PA Wire

London recorded the largest increase in house prices in the country at the end of last year.

The 6.4 per cent rise put the average cost of a house at £398,000 in December, above the national average and far in excess of the values seen in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The 3.4 per cent national average house price appears to have been driven by the capital and the south east, which saw the next largest price rise - at 3.7 per cent.

Northern Ireland and the north east of England were the only regions to record house price falls, the Office for National Statistics figures showed.

It comes after Savills estate agents published analysis which showed how the value of London’s housing stock increased by 6.8 per cent to £1.12trillion in 2012.

It meant the cost of houses in 10 London boroughs amounted to more than that in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.