BURY has been named the happiest place to live in Greater Manchester, according to property website Rightmove.

The 2017 Happy at Home Index also ranked Bury residents as the third happiest in the North West, behind only the Wirral and Chester.

More than 17,000 people across Britain took part in the survey, which asked residents how happy they are with where they live and also to rank 12 happiness factors.

The 12 factors used to judge ‘happiness’ were:

- Community spirit

- Sense of belonging

- Whether people felt they could be themselves

- Safety

- Friendly neighbours

- Arts and culture

- Nature and green spaces

- Essential local services

- Whether people earn enough to live comfortably

- Sports and recreational activities

- Opportunities to develop skills

- Local amenities like restaurants and bars.

Bury Council leader Rishi Shori said: “I’m not surprised that Bury has yet again been voted as the happiest place to live in Greater Manchester.

"Bury is genuinely an amazing place to live - we have a wealth of hidden gems as well as our famous landmarks such as Bury Market, the East Lancs railway and the Irwell Sculpture Trail.

“Bury is a prime choice for families with our excellent schools, leisure and shopping facilities as well as being the place of choice for new business start ups, the highest in Greater Manchester last year.

"It’s no surprise that people want to live in Bury when you take into account our Green Flag parks and surrounding beautiful countryside as well.

“The council works hard with our partners to make Bury a great place to live, work and play – I have to say that it’s the people of Bury that make it the happy place it is, and together with our communities we are continually striving to make our borough even better.”

Across the whole of Britain, Bury ranked as the 34th happiest place to live, comparing favourably to neighbours Manchester, Bolton and Rochdale who are 125th, 132nd and 147th respectively.

According to the survey, residents of Leamington Spa, in Warwickshire, are the happiest nationally.

Here is Rightmove's list of the top ten happiest places to live in the North West:

1. Wirral

2. Chester

3. Bury

4. Stockport

5. Warrington

6. Lancaster

7. Southport

8. Crewe

9. Carlisle

10. Wigan