Dorset has been named the top county for pensioners to retire to.

The research, carried out by Prudential, revealed that Dorset is the most attractive county for pensioners looking for the highest quality of life.

West Sussex and Herefordshire were joint second place.

The data is based on seven indicators of a happy and comfortable retirement.

These include population of pensioners, disability-free life expectancy, access to healthcare, crime levels, the number of people moving to the county, pension income and the weather.

The new figures provide an update to the findings of the Quality of Retirement Index previously released in 2014, in which Dorset also topped the rankings using a slightly different set of indicators based on the most up to date data available at the time.

Vince Smith-Hughes, a retirement income expert at Prudential, said: “Our analysis shows that every part of the country has something different to offer when the time comes to give up work, but of course for many it simply isn’t possible to up sticks and move somewhere new when they retire.

“Irrespective of where you live, if you are looking to secure a comfortable life in retirement it is vital to plan ahead."

Dorset is ranked in the national top 10 in four of the seven indicators, including being the sixth most popular destination for retirees moving home and having the country’s third highest concentration of people over the age of 65.

Devon was in fourth place and the Isle of Wight in fifth place with East Sussex.