Unemployed Britons can now afford to live the high life, getting beer for 35p and a slap-up meal for less than £6 ... but they have to move to Bulgaria.

A ruling in the Balkan state has forced authorities to pay EU nationals out of work in the country the same benefit rate they would get at home.

It means Britons would receive £230 a month, which is more than the £140 -a-month average wage in Bulgaria, and nearly four times as much as the £60 a month that the average jobless person gets.

The ruling came after an unemployed German took a Bulgarian benefit office to the High Court, demanding to be paid benefits in line with EU laws, which the country has signed up to.

Michael Witwer, 30, who lives in the village of Vratsa, won the case and is now getting e570-a-month – equal to £397.

Bulgaria, which joined the EU in January, has one of the lowest costs of living in Europe.

When converted to the local currency, the lev, £230 goes a long way.

A restaurant meal costs less than £6, and it can be washed down with a litre of beer for 35p or a bottle of wine for £3.50.

Eating at home is even cheaper – a loaf of bread is just 30p.

And, unlike the high property prices in Britain, a two-bedroom flat in the Bulgarian capital Sofia can be yours for just £22,000.

The arrangement imposed by the court is standard in all EU countries, a Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said.