St Albans has more festive activities than anywhere in the UK outside London, a new study has revealed.

Research by Zoopla placed the Cathedral city second in a countdown of the UK locations with the highest number of festive events.

London bagged the top spot with 346 such activities, while St Albans has 279, ahead of Manchester (168), Birmingham (138) and Redditch (136). Hemel Hempstead came ninth with 109.

St Albans' celebrations include the Christmas Cracker event, which drew huge crowds to St Peter's Street last month. Further attractions include the Nutcracker Trail, Carols on the Hour at the Cathedral and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Alban Arena.

Zoopla also gave areas of the UK a winter wonderland ranking, based on the number of winter walks, the likelihood of snow, the council's decoration spend and the average pub review, as well as the total number of festive activities.

St Albans came 27th on this list while Hemel came 78th. Glasgow took the top spot, followed by London and Cheltenham.

A combination of 10 winter walks and a council Christmas decoration spend of £78 per 1,000 people helped St Albans secure its ranking, while the East of England was named the third most festive region in the country.

Daniel Copley, Zoopla's consumer spokesperson, said: “After a tough 18 months, including social restrictions last year around Christmas time, many of us are naturally looking forward to spending time with our loved ones and enjoying Christmas-related activities.

“Towns and cities will be thriving and bustling with plenty of festive activities to enjoy with the family. It’s the perfect excuse for communities to come together and celebrate the holiday as we wrap up another year."