More students planning to live at home for university over 'insane' living costs

More new students are choosing to live at home for university this year than in the last nine years, new data shows.

Over 81,000 UK 18-year-olds said in their accepted university application that they intended to live at home this year, according to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) - just over one in three students in that category.

The figures vary across the UK - with 48% of applicants in Scotland intending to live at home, compared with 20% in Wales - but the trend is rising across the board.

Students told the BBC the rising cost of living was a major influence in deciding what to do after school or college.

For friends Beatrice and Amelia, who are from St Helens, Merseyside, the cost of accommodation was a big factor in their decision to live at home while studying.

Both are heading to university in September, but neither will be moving into student accommodation.

Beatrice is going to the University of Manchester to study maths and plans to commute by train, a journey which can take about 50 minutes in total.

"My first choice was Manchester and then my second was Liverpool, so I knew I could commute," she says, adding that the price of accommodation would have been "a few grand a year".