Buckinghamshire is best county

People in Buckinghamshire enjoy the best quality of life in Britain, a study claims. They are the healthiest in the country, have the highest life expectancy and are among the highest-paid, on an average of £40,000 a year, shows the Halifax survey.

About 77 per cent of people in the county own their homes, with properties larger than average, containing 6.1 rooms. GCSE results are also above average and the county enjoys an hour more sunshine per week than Great Britain as a whole.

Halifax's quality of life survey scored each county on factors such as employment, earnings, housing quality, weather, crime, education and health.

People in Surrey were found to have the second highest quality of life, followed by those in Berkshire. Counties in Greater London and the South-east dominate the list, providing eight of the top 10.