TAUNTON has been ranked the 11th happiest place to live in the south west.

The rating comes from property website Rightmove's 2019 Happy at Home Index, which ranks places across the UK.

Somerset's County Town comes 11th in a list of 18 towns in the region, with Dorchester topping the list, and Weston super Mare coming out in 18th place.

Bath topped the Somerset chart, followed by Taunton, Yeovil and Weston super Mare of those to make the list.

A Rightmove spokesperson said: "More than 22,000 people across Great Britain took part in Rightmove's Happy at Home survey, which asked residents how happy they are where they live, as well as asking them to rank 12 happiness factors.

"The 12 factors range from how safe residents fell and how friendly the neighbours are, to how good the local services are, the level of community spirit and the quality of cultural activities in the area."

The full list of 18 places in the south west is below - with each places national ranking in brackets:

1. Dorchester (8)

2. Cheltenham (14)

3. Truro (16)

4. Poole (18)

5. Cirencester (20)

6. Salisbury (23)

7. Bath (25)

8. Barnstaple (27)

9. Torquay (58)

10. Exeter (60)

11. Taunton (64)

12. Gloucester (65)

13. Bournemouth (69)

14. Yeovil (79)

15. Bristol (106)

16. Swindon (123)

17. Plymouth (134)

18. Weston super Mare (146)

Nationally, Northumberland town Hexham was crowned the UK's happiest place to live, followed by Harrogate in Yorkshire, with London's Richmond upon Thames in third.

In Scotland, it's Galashiels where residents are most content, with Llandrindod Wells topping the list for Wales.