A vision for the region's economic future would be at risk should the UK opt to leave the EU, campaigners have claimed.

Chancellor George Osborne has today warned of the impact of an Out vote on the Northern Powerhouse, potentially costing 56,000 North West jobs, lowering the value of homes and impacting on wages.

The powerhouse initiative, launched two years ago, is designed to redress the north-south imbalance and drive economies in manufacturing, science, technology and tourism.

Mr Osborne said: “Together, we’re building the Northern Powerhouse, and this is a time of real opportunity for the north.

“But that bright future is all assuming we are part of the EU.”

The chancellor claimed 56,000 jobs stand to be created in the North West by 2020 if Britain remains in the EU, with the average wage rising from £25,500 to £30,000. Based on Treasury forecasts, he added, wages would fall by around three per cent and homes would be devalued by an average £21,000 should the UK vote to leave on Thursday June 23.

The overall impact by 2018 would be a £5.5billion reduction to the size of the North West economy, the chancellor concluded.

Mr Osborne said: “If the country votes to quit the EU next week, the economy would go into reverse and there would be a recession. We know when it comes to recessions, the north often feels it first and suffers for longer.

“The jobs, the investment, and the international‎ interest that the Northern Powerhouse is now attracting would all be put at risk. And it would be working people in the north of England who would pay the price - in lost jobs, lower incomes and less secure family finances.”

The warning from the Britain Stronger In Europe campaign comes as international businesses with factories in Carlisle face questions about the future of their operations based on the referendum outcome.

On Friday, former Carlisle MP, Eric Martlew, raised suspicions that both the city's Pirelli tyre factory and Nestle at Dalston could close within five years of a British exit.

A spokeswoman for Nestle said that idea had not come from the company, and that the decision over the EU is one to be made by the British public.