STAMP duty is to be abolished for first-time buyers on properties up to £300,000 as Chancellor Philip Hammond put measures to tackle the UK's housing crisis at the centre of his Budget.

The measure will also apply on the first £300,000 of a purchase in high-price areas, meaning 95% of first-time buyers will see at least a cut in the amount of stamp duty, with 80% paying none at all.

Chard & Ilminster News: IN THE NEWS: Chancellor Philip Hammond holding his red ministerial box outside 11 Downing Street, London, before heading to the House of Commons to deliver his Budget. Photo: PRESS ASSOCIATIONIN THE NEWS: Chancellor Philip Hammond holding his red ministerial box outside 11 Downing Street, London, before heading to the House of Commons to deliver his Budget. Photo: PRESS ASSOCIATION

The cut will come into force immediately, Mr Hammond said, as he set out plans to build 300,000 extra new homes a year by the mid 2020s.

"This is our plan to deliver on the pledge we have made to the next generation that the dream of home ownership will become a reality in this country once again," Mr Hammond said.

Over the next five years Mr Hammond pledged a total of at least £44 billion of capital funding, loans and guarantees to support the housing market.