Horsham is among the most relaxed places in Britain, says new study

That’s according to new research which shows that Horsham ranks as one of the country’s most relaxed places - rated fourth lowest in anxiety ratings.

The study - by finance firm IVA Advice - analysed Office of National Statistics’ data on a scale of 1-10 in 412 areas from April 2019 to March 2020.

Horsham’s anxiety rating of 2.21 out of 10 puts it fourth behind Burnley, Fylde and Boston as the UK’s least anxious places.

The town slightly increased in anxiety compared to the previous year’s rating of 2.15 as the UK faced a stress-induced build up to lockdown in March 2020.

It means that Horsham is well below the national average anxiety rating for the whole of the UK, say the researchers.

The UK’s most anxious list is topped by Castle Point in South Essex.

A spokesperson at IVA Advice said: “It’s very interesting to see the varying anxiety levels across different parts of the UK, especially as these figures reflect the very start of the pandemic in March 2020.

“There’s a clear trend that shows, despite the understandable rise in anxiety in many places across the UK, anxiety fell significantly in several areas just before lockdown.”

See www.iva-advice.co