More than one in 10 Scarborough residents have ended their marriage in divorce, new figures have revealed.

Statistics from the Office for National Statistics show that almost 11 per cent of over 16s in Scarborough have divorced from their husband or wife.

The rate is above the national average of 9.1 per cent.

Philip Barnsley, Head of Family at law firm Higgs LLP, has said that people are completing the divorce process in a more amicable way than in previous years, assisted by changes to legislation, such as 'no-fault' divorce, and couples using just one lawyer to represent them both.

Mr Barnsley said: "The general trend around divorces is for them to be on the rise, and that is usually a pattern which emerges in a challenging economic climate.

"The introduction of no-fault divorce last year has been hugely important in creating an amicable and collaborative approach to divorce.

"It has completely removed the need for blame to be apportioned for adultery or other unreasonable behaviour when a relationship breaks down and separating couples have responded well to these changes.

“We have launched a new service at Higgs called Separate Together which allows a couple to divorce using the same lawyer, with couples saving well in excess of 50 per cent of the cost they would incur for instructing two lawyers."

The ONS figures also revealed that 42.7 per cent of Scarborough residents are currently married or in a civil partnership, and 38 per cent have never been married.

To find out more about Separate Together, contact Philip on 01384 327180 or philip.barnsley@higgsllp.co.uk.