Britain's most miserable places to live revealed in…

Britain's most miserable places to live revealed in new data - see the full list

Once the capital of Britain in Roman times, Colchester has a new claim to fame after being voted the country's most 'miserable' place to live in a new poll.

The historic Essex town came bottom for 'happiness' in nationwide survey on personal wellbeing by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which each year asks respondents for a rating of of ten alongside their sense of life satisfaction, how worthwhile they feel, and levels of anxiety.

Residents of Colchester reported an average happiness score of 6.8, some way below the UK's average happiness rating of 7.45.

While most places in the UK reported an uptick in general personal wellbeing in the aftermath of the Coronavirus pandemic, Colchester was one of the few local authorities to see a reported decline compared with 12 months before.

The next most unhappy location was Redditch in Worcestershire, which was the only one to come in the bottom five for all four criteria.

Redditch in Worcestershire came second last, with residents reporting an average of only 7.1 out of 10 for happiness (Alamy Stock Photo)

A former global leader in the manufacture of sewing needles, residents of the town don't seem to feel on 'top of the world' these days after ranking themselves only 7.1 out of 10 on the scale.

Redditch even compares unfavourably with its near neighbours, with Bromsgrove coming in at a respectable 7.8 and Wyre Forest - including the towns of Kidderminster, Bewdley and Stourport - ranking themselves at an average of 7.5.

A view of Norwich city centre, market place and St Peter Mancroft Church in the morning (Getty Images)

Norwich meanwhile ranked third bottom for happinness, with locals in Norfolk's county capital also giving the nation's highest scores for self-reported levels of anxiety.

Perhaps a surprise inclusion on this year's list is the affluent town of Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent, which came in closely ahead of the South London borough of Lambeth.

At the other end of the list meanwhile was Torridge in North Devon, where residents gave an impressive average score of 8.16/10 on their overall happiness levels.

The Pantiles pedestrian area of Tunbridge Wells with pavement cafes and shops in Ken (Getty Images)

Lichfield in Staffordshire and the Lancashire borough of Pendle tied in second on 8.10.

The ONS said average rates of overall wellbeing had improved between September 2021 - March 2022, but had still not returned to levels recorded before the Coronavirus pandemic.