SOUTH Oxfordshire has been crowned the best place to live in the South East and among the top spots in the UK.

The district climbed the ranks in the 2019 Halifax Quality of Life Survey to sit in sixth place, up from 14th when the survey was last published in December 2017.

Halifax compiles the list annually to quantify where living standards are best, by ranking performance across 24 indicators covering the jobs market, housing market, the environment, education, health, wellbeing and leisure.

SEE THE FULL LIST HERE - BUT ONE PLACE IS MISSING

Vale of White Horse also shot up the table this year, placing at 11 compared to 62 last time.

West Oxfordshire moved up one place from 29 to 28.

In the regional table, South Oxfordshire won the spot for the South East.

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Orkney was named the UK’s best place to live, which was credited to high employment levels, low crime rate, strong exam results, smaller primary class sizes and good health and happiness scores.

Richmondshire in North Yorkshire took second place, followed by Rutland in the East Midlands, Hambleton in North Yorkshire and Eden in Cumbria in fifth.

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Russell Galley, managing director of Halifax, said: "Orkney has consistently been considered one of the best places to live in the UK and Orcadians will be delighted to hear they have now taken the crown.

"While the South East continues to have the most locations in the top 50, we’ve seen northern areas perform particularly well on education while they also benefit from lower house prices when compared to average earnings."