London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has named St Albans in its top 10 friendliest cities in the UK.

The train company's research analysed data from the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) and TripAdvisor data on the level of hospitality in the 50 biggest towns and cities in the UK.

This data was then weighted against the population and calculated to give each city a score out of 100.

St Albans has been named eighth in the list, narrowly beating Colchester and Chelmsford, with Blackpool and Brighton the top two.

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The full list can be seen below:

  1. Blackpool (79.9/100)
  2. Brighton (75.0/100)
  3. York (71.4/100)
  4. Newcastle upon Tyne (70.4/100)
  5. Edinburgh (69.5/100)
  6. Bath (68.8/100)
  7. Chester (68.6/100)
  8. St Albans (68.2/100)
  9. Colchester (68.1/100)
  10. Chelmsford (67.7/100)

A statement released by LNER reads: "Despite being the smallest city by population among all the cities studied, St Albans shines with the highest life satisfaction score among the top contenders, boasting an impressive 79.7 out of 100.

"It also tops the chart with a score of 80.2 for its residents feeling that the things done in life are worthwhile.

"However, its relatively low number of five-star rated restaurants and hotels per capita – standing at 36.7 per 100,000 residents – contributes significantly to its placement in the ranking."