TORBAY has seen a foreign exodus with a sharp rise in the number of people leaving to go abroad, figures have revealed.

The number of foreigners arriving in the Bay remained unchanged last year at 500, compared to the previous 12 month period.

At the same time, the number of people leaving the area for overseas rose dramatically from 300 in 2007 to 800 last year.

Both Teignbridge and South Hams also saw a similar trend, with the number of foreign arrivals falling, and a rise in departures abroad.

The downward shift is in line with the national trend for a recession-linked drop in immigration as a large number of foreign workers return home and the number of new arrivals fall dramatically.

During the same period figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the number of people settling in Torbay from elsewhere in the country fell from 6,800 to 5,700, but the number leaving also dropped from 5,800 to 5,300.

Overall, Torbay's total population fell slightly by 200 over the year to 134,000 in mid 2008, with deaths outstripping births.

Teignbridge's population rose slightly by 800 to 127,600, while in the South Hams it remained unchanged over the year at 83,500.

It comes as nationally a baby boom contributed to driving the UK's overall population to more than 61 million for the first time.

The UK population is now 61.4million, a rise of more than 400,000 since last year — the highest numerical increase since 1962 and a rise of two million since 2001, despite an apparent end to the vast wave of Eastern European immigration of recent years.

Chief statistician Karen Dunnell said the increase in emigration was probably due to the economic downturn.