YORK millionaire Richard Harpin is the sixth richest person in Yorkshire, according to the new edition of The Sunday Times Rich List.

Mr Harpin - the man behind Homeserve, the UK’s largest home emergency business - is said to have a fortune worth £458 million, up £102 million in the past year.

The List, considered to be the definitive guide to wealth in the United Kingdom and to be published on Sunday, says the University of York graduate has a 12.5 per cent stake in Homeserve worth £333 million, up £99 million in the past year.

It says Mr Harpin has also branched into the repairs side of the business through the Checkatrade website, which he now wholly owned.

The List says Robert Miller, 84, who co-founded the Duty Free Shoppers Chain and owns the 36,000 acre Gunnerside Estate in Richmond, is the richest person in Yorkshire with £2 billion, up £420 million. Eddie and Malcolm Healey are said to be in second place with £1.6 billion, up £120 million.

The List says profits soared by more than 50 per cent in 2016 at Malcolm Healey’s West Retail Group, based at Hotham in East Yorkshire, which includes Wren Kitchens and the electronics retailer Ebuyer.

Harrogate property magnate Paul Sykes saw his worth rise £60 million to £770 million, putting him at number five in the Yorkshire List.

Robert Watts, compiler of the List, Magazine, which reveals the wealth of the 1,000 richest people in Britain, said it now largely comprised self-made individuals, adding: “The days when our lists were dominated by aristocrats and inherited wealth are gone.”