Ribble Valley is one of the "happiest places" in England

Ribble Valley has been listed as one of the “happiest places” in England following a study that examined factors including life expectancy, crime rates and personal well being.

The borough was named the fifth happiest place in England with Winchester, Babergh, Rushcliffe and Chiltern taking the top four places according to the research by Royal Mail.

The Ribble Valley with its many villages, including Downham which is pictured here, has been named one of the happiest places to live in England.

placeholder image — The Ribble Valley with its many villages, including Downham which is pictured here, has been named one of the happiest places to live in England.

Meanwhile, Winchester, East Renfrewshire, Monmouthshire and Lisburn and Castlereagh came out on top in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland respectively, according to the study.

Researchers took into account eight measures that affect people’s happiness to compile the Royal Mail Happiness Index. These were: reported personal well-being; life expectancy; average earnings; inequality within the area; carbon emissions; crime; levels of deprivation; and access to healthcare.

Data published by the Office for National Statistics in February suggested that while income and spending had increased across the UK in the last quarter of 2018 there had been a “levelling off” of people’s personal well-being, and that Britons’ perception of the future were more negative than they had been at the start of the year.

Commenting on the national picture, Glenn Everett of the ONS said: “Despite high levels of employment, rising incomes and spending across UK households, people are not reporting increases in their well-being. This may be due to worries about rising debt repayments, which could be driving concerns about their future financial situation.”