The number of people registering for National Insurance numbers in Preston, South Ribble and Chorley is equivalent to more than half the population of Penwortham.

Figures show 70 people arrived in Preston from war-torn Afghanistan with a further 60 arriving from Zimbabwe along with more than 3,000 from Poland and 2,000 from India.

In South Ribble, more than 500 Poles arrived to work, with 10 even arriving from Iran and Brazil. Chorley has welcomed 30 people from the Philippines.

The latest figures show 23,671 people claimed unemployment benefit in Lancashire last month, a rise of 6,767 from the previous year.

That includes 3,434 people in Preston, 1,688 people in South Ribble and 1,924 people in Chorley.

Recruitment experts in Lancashire are reporting strong demand from migrant workers for jobs which are not wanted by local people.

That includes jobs in agricultural, manufacturing and retail.

One Preston couple who arrived in the city 12 months ago from the Kerala region of India and have set up their own business said they were keen to bring their skills to the UK.

Nurse Anu Kuriakose and her husband, Abraham, who are from the Kerala region of southern India, opened Abel Supermarket on Blackpool Road when they arrived in the city a year ago – and are now selling to homes across the North West.

Anu, who works as a nurse at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, said: "We opened the shop selling mostly traditional Indian and Asian foods.

"But straight away we started with delivering to homes in the local area, then further afield to Blackburn and now we go to Stockport, Warrington, Wigan up into the Lake District, all over."

She said that thousands highly-skilled medical professionals from India and across Asia were training with the intention of moving to the UK where their skills were needed.

Hospital worker Krzytof Benkiewicz, who moved to Longridge from the town of Wolomin in Poland in April, said he knew of many people who had returned to his home country in recent months.

But he said there were still many who wanted to stay in Lancashire.

The 27-year-old said: "This is home to a lot of people; they have jobs, friends, a whole life here and do not want to leave.

"They came here for a better life maybe 10 years ago and now even though life is probably much better in Poland, they do not want to leave."

Prof Robert Masters, a former lecturer in immigration policy and social research, said Lancashire's historical links with migrant workers made it attractive for many workers.

The expert, who lives in the Ribble Valley, said: "Those workers arrived to work in mills when they were a key part of Lancashire's manufacturing scene, and now other migrants are here for different kinds of work."

But, recruitment consultant Joanne Salter said that many migrant workers were now arriving into highly-skilled employment in the UK.

She said: "The majority of people I am seeing come through are much higher-skilled.

"Traditionally there has always been a strong contingent from Asia in the medical profession but now there is more people taking top jobs in industries like manufacturing and the service sector."