A BREXIT would hit families in the south west the hardest, according to a former Somerset MP.

Lord ‘Paddy’ Ashdown, who was the former MP for South Somerset, said that if there was a Leave vote in the upcoming EU, the south west region would be one of the hardest hit.

Lord Ashdown was speaking after a research by Sheffield University showed that the region is the most dependent on EU trade.

The report showed that more than two thirds goods exported from the south west go to the rest of the EU, a higher proportion than any other region.

Exports are also dominated by chemicals and vehicles, two of the sectors that would be hardest hit by tariffs if the UK left the EU’s single market.

Lord Ashdown, who is campaigning on behalf of the Remain campaign, spoke at a hustings in Ilminster recently where he spoke passionately about the UK remaining in the EU.

Speaking after the report was published, he said: “It would be bad news for Britain but even worse news for the West Country if we leave the EU.

“There is no doubt that families across the South West would be some of the hardest hit.

“As a region we are more dependent on trade with Europe than any other and we receive a huge amount of EU funding for infrastructure, small businesses and apprenticeships. Leaving Europe would put all these benefits at risk.

“Staying part of the single market will mean we can deliver more jobs, more investment and protect local public services from crippling cuts.”

The study also found the south west would be disproportionately hit by the loss of EU structural funds. The region will receive £1.5 billion of EU funding between 2014 and 2020.

The news comes as a report by the Institute of Fiscal Studies today warned that damage to the economy from leaving the EU would create a £40 billion hole in the country’s finances, leading to an additional two years of austerity.