HALF of England's large care home providers for the elderly have at least one in four failing homes in their network, a study has found.

But in North Yorkshire the picture was very different - with all the county council's care homes rated as good or outstanding.

North Yorkshire County Council and nationwide operator Avery topped the table - produced by Which? - using analysis of Care Quality Commission inspection results

The results showed that some of the 54 providers operating at least 12 homes in England had half or more of their premises classed as failing by the regulator.

Two of the biggest - Four Seasons Group and Orchard Care Homes - finished near the bottom of the rankings.

The worst performer, Ideal Care Homes, which runs 16 homes across the Midlands, the North West and Yorkshire, had more than three in five classed as failing by the regulator.

Alex Hayman from Which? said: "Too few providers are able to offer consistent, high quality care, limiting choice for stressed families in a system which is already close to breaking point."