Britons leaving home in droves

LONDON - Record numbers of people are leaving Britain for greener pastures overseas.

A total of 385,000 people, nearly 50,000 more than the previous year, left the United Kingdom in 2006, the Office for National Statistics said.

It was the biggest number since the statistic was first recorded 16 years ago.

The largest amount, 60,000, went to Commonwealth countries including Australia, New Zealand and India.

The report does not include reasons why people decide to emigrate.

The number of people migrating to Britain fell by 34,000 to 559,000, of whom 74,000 were from Eastern European countries that joined the EU in May 2004.

- Reuters