First-time buyers in Waltham Forest will have to save for more than 16 years before they can afford their own home, new figures show.

Labour mayoral candidateTessa Jowell said it is becoming "literally impossible to save for a deposit in Waltham Forest".

House of Commons research, commissioned by the shadow Olympics minister, claims first-time buyers are now further away from having a deposit then they were this time last year, despite benefitting from a year of savings.

The number of years of saving to buy in Waltham Forest has jumped from 13 years and 7 months in 2013 to 16 years and 3 months.

According to the research, compiled using house price data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and average earnings from 2014, you would need an extra 18 months worth of savings to keep up with the growing rise in house prices.

The study calculated how long it would take an average earner in each borough to save a typical 10 per cent deposit there, assuming they put away seven per cent of earnings each year.

She said: "London’s housing crisis has spun so far out of control it is becoming literally impossible to save for a deposit in Waltham Forest.

"We cannot go on like this.

"Solving the housing crisis is the number one challenge facing this city and will be my top priority if I’m elected mayor.

"We have to start building the homes we need, that’s why on my first day in City Hall I’d establish Homes for Londoners to get London building again, starting on the mayor’s own land.

"I’ll help first time buyers afford their first home without the need for enormous upfront deposits by building rent-to-buy homes which will turn rental payments into a contribution towards a deposit.

"Every Londoner should have a place to call home - that will be my goal as Mayor."

The average earning of residents in Waltham Forest was £24,200 as of 2013, compared to the London average of £28,000.

House prices in the borough have rocketed in recent years as demand has soared and housing stock has fallen.

According to the council, the average house price as of June 2014 was £333,000, up 28 per cent from the same period in 2013.

If elected, Ms Jowell said tackling the housing crisis would be her number one goal.

The research showed Kensington and Chelsea as the least affordable borough with first-time buyers having to save for more than 41 years to afford a 10 per cent deposit.

The only boroughs in London where first-time buyers could ever save enough were Newham, Croydon and Havering.