LONDON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- A poll in England shows four out of 10 whites do not want a black or Asian neighbor, The Guardian reported Monday.
The Mori survey for Prospect magazine found 39 percent of those asked would prefer to live in an area only with people from the same ethnic background. Forty-one percent of whites and 26 percent of ethnic minorities surveyed wanted the races to live separately.
The poll found older people were most in favor of living apart from other races. Only 40 percent of people over 55 favored multi-cultural neighborhoods, compared with 64 percent of 16- to 34-year-olds.
The poll shows the issue of race and immigration has risen up the list of Briton's concerns and is now the third most important, ahead of crime, defense and the economy.
Nearly one in five people believe immigrants and asylum seekers are responsible for a loss of community spirit, though 40 percent say people working longer hours is to blame, with more than a third saying that people watching television or using the Internet is the reason for a drop in community cohesiveness.
