More EU citizens are registering for national insurance numbers in Herefordshire than before the Brexit vote, bucking the national trend.

Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show that across the majority of the UK far fewer Europeans have applied for NI numbers since the EU referendum in June 2016. New residents require an NI number to work and claim benefits.

However in Herefordshire the number of immigrants from the EU registering for NI numbers has increased slightly.

In the year before June 2016, the month of the referendum, 2,432 EU citizens registered for NI numbers.

Last year 2,460 Europeans registered, 28 more than before the Brexit vote.

The DWP said the figures should not be used to indicate immigration levels, as foreign nationals could have been in the country for some time before applying for an NI number.