Rural parts of the West Country are suffering a youth unemployment crisis, a major report revealed yesterday.

The study uncovered pockets of the countryside in Somerset, Wiltshire and Devon where one-in-six youngsters is on the dole.

The inquiry, led by former Labour leadership contender David Miliband, destroys the chocolate box image of the countryside as being affluent compared to the inner cities.

The report lists 600 blackspots across the UK where the number of under-24s claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance is twice the national average.

Mr Miliband’s Commission on Youth Unemployment estimates that where one in six is on JSA, that will translate to one in three being NEET – not in employment, education or training.

The list does not include any part of Bristol, but at Calne Abberd, in North Wiltshire, 14.81 per cent of young people are claiming out-of-work benefits, and in Parks ward in Swindon, it is 13.13 per cent.

Frome Keyford in Mendip, at 12.72 per cent, Bridgwater Hamp, Sedgemoor (12.69) and Devizes North in Kennet (12.66) are all in there.

And this pattern is not just confined to the West, as other blackspots take in Torbay in Devon, Bodmin in Cornwall, and parts of shire counties such as Shropshire, Lincolnshire, Pembrokeshire and the Isle of Wight.

Launching the report, former Foreign Secretary Mr Miliband said: “Britain faces a youth unemployment emergency. This is a crisis we cannot afford.”

He denied suggestions that the work-shy were refusing to take jobs: “There are a lot of youngsters desperate for a chance to show what they are capable of.”

According to the report, the current level of joblessness will cost the taxpayer £4.8 billion this year.

Mr Miliband said: “The crisis of youth unemployment can and must be tackled now. We can make a real difference across Britain.”

While the recession meant a lack of available jobs, the UK had a deeper problem, he believed.

“Even in the good times, in 2004 when the economy seemed to be booming, there were 900,000 youngsters who were NEET – half of them for over a year. So what I always say is the current Government did not invent this problem but it has become much worse in the last 18 months.”

The commission wants ministers to double the number of subsidised job places available through its youth contract scheme, guarantee part-time jobs for those out of work for a year and to create youth unemployment zones to focus resources.

It says they should also provide better work experience and career advice, to give young people preparation, motivation and skills.

There should be more help for young people not heading for university, including apprenticeships, a ‘Job Ready’ national programme for those most at risk of becoming NEET and mentoring by young people employed for a year.