BOURNEMOUTH has been named as third best UK 'city' to retire in.

The rankings were created by an index-based points system based on a number of social and geographical factors, such as crime level, annual sunshine, quality of healthcare, house prices and access to leisure activities.

Compiled by HeatingForce.co.uk, a top ten of best cities and list of the 10 worst cities to retire in have been published.

Topping the list with 925 points out of 1,000 was Norwich, with York second on 767 points and Bournemouth third with 699 – narrowly beating Edinburgh into fourth which scored 696.

Coventry ranked the highest on the top ten worst UK cities to retire in – scoring just 13 out of 1,000.

A spokesman for the survey explained that the top 40 UK cities base on population were analysed.

They added: "Bournemouth is the third best city to retire to.

"Known for its sandy beaches, this city ranks highest for hours of annual sunshine (1,767 hours) and has one of the highest average ages (43 years old)."

HeatingForce also surveyed 3,435 Brits close to retirement and found that 64 per cent plan to move to a different UK city when they retire.

Visit heatingforce.co.uk for further information.