CLAIMS that Dorset is witnessing a mass exodus of people moving abroad have been played down locally.

A national newspaper, interpreting figures from the Office of National Statistics, said middle class areas were seeing populations dwindle through net international emigration.

Dorset was the worst affected county, with four of its local authority areas in the top 10 areas of net migration loss.

Poole came second to the Wirral on the national list, with 2,800 more people leaving than arriving over the past half decade.

East Dorset, ranked third, has lost 2.59 per cent of its 85,000 population for the same period, whereas Christchurch and West Dorset are ranked joint eighth.

In Christchurch almost three per cent of its 45,000 population has been lost to overseas emigration.

West Dorset has seen 1,300 more people leave than arrive in the past five years.

But the claim that English emigration outstripped immigration to reduce the town's 45,000 population by three per cent over the past year was disputed by Christchurch council's head of corporate policy David Barnes, who said the borough was actually growing.

Mr Barnes said: "ONS estimates can be a bit hit and miss and there is ebb and flow, but I am pretty certain that overall our population is slowly going up.

"For the three per cent that go out there are more that have moved in and the population is predicted to grow."

He said the majority of people moving to Christchurch came from other parts of the country and were typically in or nearing retirement, capital rich and buying their homes outright.

"There is very little inward migration from other countries.

"People coming from foreign parts tend to be younger and move to large towns and cities," he said.

Government estimates are that 5.5 million Britons are now living abroad and a further 1 million would leave the UK by 2011 with Australia, Spain and America the top destinations.

John Radcliffe, of Bournemouth-based Vine Leaf Properties, which sells properties abroad, said there was little incentive for locals to move permanently overseas.

He said: "People round here are very happy. Although the national trend may be that people are fleeing overseas, our experience here is it would take a lot for people to leave."

David Odell, of Links Property in Poole, agreed.

"My experience is that quite a lot of people are looking to buy properties abroad but whether the follow-up is to move abroad I don't know," he said.

"I do hear a lot of people wanting to move to France and there are a lot of people buying second homes."