CENTRAL Beds has emerged as the local authority area with the highest population in the East of England, in census figures just released.
The first results from the 2011 Census have been published by the Office for National Statistics.
Central Beds was found to have a population of 254,000.
That adds up to a rise of 20,400, which works out as an 8.7 per cent increase, between 2001 and 2011.
Luton was the most densely populated local authority area, with almost 4,700 people per square kilometre. That equates to around 47 people on a rugby pitch.
The total number of households in the East of England was reported to be 2.4 million.