YORK has been voted as the city most Brits would want to live in.

The city came top in the research by web search engine Bing, with ten per cent of respondents saying they would most like to live in the city, beating Bath, which got six per cent of the vote, as did Brighton and Hove and Edinburgh. Truro completed the top five with five per cent.

York also topped the poll of most beautiful city, getting 17 per cent of the vote, again beating Bath and Edinburgh, and this time also beating London and Oxford.

Kay Hyde, PR manager for city tourism organisation Visit York, said this latest accolade could boost its already strong reputation.

She said: “The City Walls, York Minster, the river, the stunning architecture and individual shops, not to mention the street musicians and fabulous flower displays, all make York vibrant and beautiful. So many of our visitors tell us how much they love the city and would like to live here.

“We are delighted by this latest accolade, which will help boost York’s reputation as the top city-break destination in the UK.

“We’d like to thank all our visitors for voting for York and also all those local unsung heroes who help keep the city beautiful.”

The research found Brits were loyal to their native region, with 70 per cent saying they were happy to live and stay in their local area.

Although seven in ten respondents would consider moving in the future, the majority would move from one city to another within their region.

Half of Brits who would move wanted to go to the countryside, and 30 per cent said they would move to the beach, with 23 per cent favouring city living.

The research found 59 per cent of people who grew up in Yorkshire still lived there, with 13 per cent saying they would never consider moving away.

While 64 per cent of Yorkshire residents claimed to like or love the region, Ripon was hailed as the most loyal city, with 44 per cent of residents vowing never to leave the city.