HARROGATE is the best place to live in North East England and Yorkshire, according to the Sunday Times.

The North Yorkshire town topped the region's rankings, with York, Helmsley and Thirsk also making it into the newspaper's Best Places to Live in Britain guide.

According to the supplement, locations were rated on data and statistics such as crime rates, house prices and school performance.

This was combined with the "local knowledge and expertise of Sunday Times writers to compile the definitive top locations to make your home."

Places were selected for offering the best quality of life, and combining desirable features such as a positive community spirit, good local shops and services and attractive outdoor spaces.

The individual rankings will be revealed when part one of the guide, covering the South East, East, North East and Yorkshire, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, is published on Sunday.

Part two, featuring the South West, Midlands, London and the North West, as well as the overall best place to live in the UK, will be published on Sunday, March 20.

Sunday Times home editor Helen Davies said: "Britain is full of great places to live, and our annual supplement celebrates the richness on offer from bustling market towns and buzzing city centres to sociable suburbs and sleepy hamlets.

"We go beyond dry statistics, drawing on personal experience and the expertise of our writers, to create the definitive list of the best places to live in the UK."