Yorkshire postcodes rank among best places to bring up children in the UK

The region features more postcodes in the top 20 of a new report for the ideal place for young families to set up home than anywhere else in the country, following an analysis of factors including crime rates, earnings, house prices and access to good schools.

The North Yorkshire villages of Great Ayton, near Stokesley, and Dunnington, near York, featured in seventh and 14th place respectively, while Ilkley was positioned at number 12.

The historic Devonshire farming village of Winkleigh, situated between Dartmoor and Exmoor, tops the list of 2,400 postcodes owing to its rural setting, strong school results and relatively affordable properties.

Extremely low crime figures also gave it an edge over other parts of the country, while salaries are well above the national average (£24,170) at £37,566, according to the data.

The value of a two-bedroom home is also significantly lower than the national average (£167,659) at £150,837, helping it score highly with affordable housing across the country at a premium.

Analysts examined more than 60 sets of data to build up a detailed picture of each postcode in England and Wales using police figures, Land Registry information, Ofsted reports and ONS population data.

Quantity and quality of early years care, along with access to green spaces and parks, leisure centres, museums and theatres, were also considered.

City centre locations with soaring property prices and crime rates scored badly in the rankings.

The research was conducted by Calnea Analytics in July for the Family Friendly Hotspots Report.

Kate Moore, head of savings and investments at Family Investments, said: “While we recognise that not everyone can lead a village life like the lucky residents of Winkleigh, our number one hotspot, we hope the factors we’ve identified will help families across the country when considering a new area to live.”

Stressing that the report was not designed to criticise low ranking regions, Ms Moore said: “In reality, these might be excellent areas, but they may well just be very expensive and price the average family out of the market.”

The worst postcodes were not revealed.