It's NOT grim up north, according to a survey saying York is the second happiest place to live in the UK.

A survey conducted by online property portal Rightmove showed York came second only to Carlisle as the place where people felt happiest living.

The survey questioned 25,000 people about their level of contentment on everything from size, value and decor of their homes to safety, how friendly neighbours are and qualities of local amenities being asked.

Huddersfield took third place whilst Harrogate came fourth, followed by Chester.

Nine out of ten of the unhappiest places to live were all in London or the South East area. The only unhappiest town in the north was Oldham

Lucian Cork, director of residential research at Savills estate agency, said he could understand why as prime northern towns were the top of the list given their high quality of life and their low prices compared to their southern counterparts.