VALE Royal has been named as one of the best places in the UK to bring up children.

The borough was ranked 11th out of 408 in a survey carried out by a national magazine.

The survey revealed that the best places to raise youngsters are small towns that are big on community spirit with rural villages a close runner-up.

Scotland takes three of the top 10 spots with East Dumbartonshire and East Renfrewshire, rural areas close to Glasgow, in first and second place and West Lothian is seventh.

Two Gloucestershire areas score well with the Forest of Dean rated third best area to raise a family and South Gloucestershire in eighth place.

To find out Britain's most family-friendly areas, Reader's Digest polled parents across the country, asking which factors most affected family life.

These factors were weighted based on the importance parents gave them. Then they were measured against statistical data for all local 408 local authority areas in England, Scotland and Wales.

Parents said that good schools and a low crime rate were their most important requirements for good places to bring up a family.

Then came good local hospitals, affordable family housing and high employment. Low risk of flooding was rated the sixth most important factor, perhaps reflecting concern about climate change.

Reading, with a high crime rate, state schools with mediocre GCSE results and a high flood risk, was ranked the worst place for families.

Three London boroughs - Waltham Forest, Haringey and Lewisham - were placed in the bottom 10. Inner-city areas fared badly overall, with Newcastle upon Tyne the highest scorer in 180th place.

A surprise entry at 10th worst was Oxford, so ranked because of high burglary rates, poor schools and expensive housing.

Reader's Digest editor-in-chief Katherine Walker said: 'When it comes to bringing up a family, small is beautiful. Only three of our top 10 areas included towns of more than 40,000 residents. What parents value is the network of concerned neighbours, teachers and community groups that makes for safe streets, strong schools and thriving towns.'