NORTHWICH is one of the best places to live in the UK, according to a guide published in The Sunday Times.

The town features firmly in the top 10 places in the north west and also appears at number 51 of 100 places in the country.

Town mayor Clr George Mainwaring, a lifelong Northwich resident, said: “I’m very pleased about this – we’ve got some nice places and it’s good to be recognised for that.

“There’s a lot more to Northwich than the town centre and the industrial parts.

“People genuinely want to come and live here and bring up a family here and there’s real community spirit.”

The Sunday Times guide takes into account transport links, quality of schools, natural beauty, low crime rate, property prices, cultural life and unemployment figures.

Northwich features alongside Kendal, Crosby, Lytham St Annes, Heswall, Chester, Clitheroe, Hale, Didsbury and Ramsbottom.

The Sunday Times Best Places to Live is edited by Sunday Times associate editor Eleanor Mills, author of a property column.

She said: “Scampering around Britain for my column I find there are particular bits of our crowded island which always retain a particular attraction for people.

“We have built on this basic information to create a definitive guide.”

John Hulme, from the Mid Cheshire Community Rail Partnership , said: ”We are not surprised to hear that three of the top 10 best places to live in the north west can be found along the scenic Mid Cheshire Line.

“Cheshire is a beautiful county and Chester, Northwich and Hale all offer excellent facilities and easy access to the rail network.”

Northwich resident Peter Harris said: “Its half-timbered properties are one of the reason we love it says the paper but I must admit that I would love them even more if they were restored and the buildings put to good use.

“Far too many of them, especially around the town centre swing bridge, are in a pretty poor state of repair and if left to deteriorate would almost certainly have to be pulled down.”

• Do you think Northwich one of the best places in the north west? Why do you love it or why do you hate it?