Migrant workers hailing from the eight countries that joined the European Union in 2004 have become the biggest such group in Britain - more than Asia and the Middle East combined.

Latest official figures reveal that the number of workers from the eight countries - called Accession 8 - had risen to 111,000.

Workers from Poland now make up the second largest group of any country contributing migrant workers to Britain - the largest is India.

Before the eight central and eastern European accession countries joined the EU the number of migrant workers hailing from there was a mere 20,000.

These new figures only cover workers who have registered for a national insurance number, and there are likely to be a large number working illegally.

People from Poland made up the largest group accounting for 57 percent (62,000) of the new total, with Lithuanians and Slovakians forming the next biggest groups at 14 percent (16,000) and nine percent (10,000) respectively.

The other countries from central and eastern Europe which joined the EU in May 2004 were the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Latvia and Estonia. There were two other countries that became EU states at that time - Malta and Cyprus.

Migrant workers from these Accession 8 countries now make up about a quarter of the total number of workers from abroad (440,000) registered in Britain with a national insurance number.

Forty percent of the arrivals from the eight countries settle in London.