ONE is a wide, leafy road in Lexden, the other is a street of flats and bungalows in New Town.

Colchester’s most expensive and cheapest streets are only separated by two-and-a-half miles, but a massive gulf in property prices.

Figures published by property website mouseprice.com show the average price of a flat in Smiths Field is £61,367, while detached family homes in St Clare Road go for an average of £771,000.

But despite the more than tenfold difference in price, residents of both streets share a love for where they live.

Linda Kendall, 51, described Smiths Field as “a lovely place to live” for her and her two children.

She said: “It’s convenient for town. As a cul-de-sac, there’s no through traffic, we’ve got the park and school close by, and we can see Tesco through the trees. Most of the properties are council houses with only a few privately owned. I’m a tenant but would buy my house if I could.”

In St Clare Road, the view from back gardens is over woods rather than a supermarket. Isla Drage, who lives with her company director husband Steve and two sons, said: “We’re close to town, but the woods at the back make it feel like you’re not in a built-up area.

“We’ve been here six years and it’s such a quiet and peaceful place to live, with very friendly and sociable neighbours.”

Mother-of-three Jill Blaxill shared her neighbour’s view of life in Lexden. She said: “It’s a very quiet road to live and everyone is very friendly, while the children can walk to school.”

Her husband, Simon, managing director of Kent Blaxill builders’ merchants, was brought up in the house.

Mrs Blaxill added: “We moved in five years ago after his parents had lived here for more than 40 years.

“I think it’s really nice for the children to have that continuity in the family.”

The list is based on Land Registry figures that record how much houses have been bought for since April 2000.

Across the UK, the street with the lowest property value is Fernhill, in north Cardiff, where the average home costs £28,600.

Chester Square, in London, tops the list, with houses costing £6,596,000 on average.