NEW data paints a picture of very mixed 'happiness' levels across Dorset.

The annual Office for National Statistics survey, which covers the 12 months to the end of March, asked people aged 16 and over to rate four areas of their personal well-being.

Three of the areas – their happiness, life satisfaction and sense of the things they do in life being worthwhile – are ranked on a scale from zero to ten with ten being the highest. The UK average is 7.52.

Christchurch residents are among the happiest in the UK, the figures suggest, with an average happiness score of 8.06.

In stark contrast the average life satisfaction score for respondents in North Dorset was 7.47, one of the lowest scores in the UK.

Silvia Manclossi, head of the quality of life team at the ONS said: "An important part of our work is looking beyond the economic health of the country to how its people are faring and inequalities in society.

"Today, for the first time, we have identified how factors such as health, access to services and crime levels may affect how people rate their well-being in different parts of the UK.

"This can help local authorities and other organisations to better understand where services could be targeted to help improve the well-being of people in their area."

The data shows that people in Christchurch have been reporting higher levels of happiness as the years go by, with this year the highest ever.

Bournemouth also reported the highest levels of happiness ever recorded by the survey, with a rating of 7.59, while Poole's score was 7.43, a drop from 2016-17 when happiness was at 7.69.

Happiness scores were also above average in East Dorset, at 7.72, and Purbeck, at 7.57.

Since the survey began in 2011-12 happiness in the UK has been increasing year-on-year, but the rate of increase has slowed in recent years.

Coming out top in the well-being survey this year was Northern Ireland, which reported the lowest levels of anxiety and the highest levels of happiness, satisfaction and feelings of worthiness of any UK region for two years running.

The single happiest place in the UK however was Rushmoor in Hampshire, with a score of 8.35.

The worst performing region across the board was London.

Another question in the survey asked respondents to rank how anxious they felt on the previous day, with zero being 'not at all anxious' and ten being 'completely anxious'.

The data suggested anxiety levels had fallen in Bournemouth and East Dorset but risen elsewhere in the county, in particular North Dorset.