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Its pleasures range from a visit to the stately Arundel Castle to flight delays at Gatwick airport.

Yet it seems West Sussex offers retirees the best possible lifestyle.

In a quality of retirement index, the county has overtaken Dorset as the top place for pensioners to live.

The research, from Prudential insurance, is based on a range of criteria including access to healthcare, crime and the weather.

The study looked at the 55 counties in England and Wales, but excluded Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Sunny weather

The south coast county is already so popular with the over-65s that it has the second-highest inflow of pensioners, after Devon.

It also scores well for ongoing health, high pensioner incomes, and relatively sunny weather.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption West Sussex has beautiful countryside

Dorset was in second place, with East Sussex and Devon next in the rankings.

Pensioners in Surrey enjoy the highest income, those in Gwynedd have the best access to healthcare, while residents of Essex get the nicest weather.

But the Isle of Wight has the highest concentration of pensioners overall.