Members of the armed forces are to receive a subsidy to buy their own homes under a new government scheme.

Communities secretary Ruth Kelly was on Wednesday setting out plans to help 10,000 military personnel and their families living in service housing in London, the South East and the East.

The move, aimed at providing a first step onto the housing ladder, will mean reduced rent for those buying newly built properties.

Under an expansion of the government's key worker programme, armed forces personnel will pay a minimum 25 per cent of the price of a new house and a reduced rent on the remaining cost.

A further 2,500 Ministry of Defence civilian workers will also qualify for assistance in buying a new home, as will those who are currently on operational deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Kelly said: "Our armed forces play a vital role in public life and their local communities; this new support recognises that contribution.

"We know that in some areas of the country service personnel, like other key workers, have been priced out of the housing market.

"That is why we have put low-cost home ownership programmes in place, which have supported thousands of families to buy their own homes."

Defence minister Derek Twigg added: "Now those living in the high-cost areas of London, the East and South East have greater choice in where they live, improving stability for their families and offering them the opportunity to meet their home-ownership aspirations."