FIRST-TIME buyers in Swindon saved £3.2 million on stamp duty land tax last year under a new government scheme.

The policy is designed to help people onto the housing ladder by scrapping the tax for new buyers paying up to £300,000 for their home - and reducing it by £5,000 for first-time homeowners paying up to £500,000.

Figures from HM Revenue and Customs show 1,550 first-time buyers in Swindon benefited from the tax relief scheme in 2018-19 – the first full financial year since it was introduced.

The tax authority estimates it lost a total of £3.2 million in tax income in the area, meaning each buyer will have saved an average of £2,050.

This was lower than the average amount saved across the south west, where 25,100 buyers benefited from the scheme.

HMRC took in £27 million in stamp duty from property sales in Swindon during the year, of which £17 million was from residential sales.

Hew Edgar from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors warned about the market being flooded by first-time buyers.

He said: "Unless the scheme is balanced out with an increase in supply, support for those taking subsequent steps, and incentives for those who wish to or who should downsize, we will experience a congested market with limited fluidity.”