Essex has topped the table for the most desirable place to live in the east of England.

The findings by Beresfords estate agents, which included Havering and Brentwood, came to the conclusion after totting up figures for high life expectancy, low crime rates, low unemployment rates, high GCSE results, house prices and even the number of sunny days.

The estate agents said these were the factors people looked at when they were potentially moving house, and Essex fared the best and was closely followed by Cambridge and Suffolk.

It said Essex had enjoyed the greatest number of sunny days in the region, had second highest life expectancy and was the only county ranked fourth or higher in every category.

The county has hosted the Olympic mountain biking and the area will also benefit from the Crossrail extension at Shenfield, which is tipped to bring considerable new investment and jobs to the area.

Paul Beresford, managing director of Beresfords estate agents, said: “Our new ‘Quality of Life’ index examined a wide range of information which affects people’s lives on a day to day basis: from sunny days to employment, life expectancy to crime rates and education to house price growth.

“When we calculated the total, it was clear that Essex as a whole performs far better than any other county in the region, which is great news for residents, but probably not surprising.

“For those looking to make a move in the region the Quality of Life index is the icing on the cake, supplementing the many other factors that make Essex a great place to live, including its fast transport links to the capital, Olympic contribution and newly crowned city of Chelmsford.”