PEOPLE living amid the beautiful scenery of South Lakeland and the Eden Valley are among the least happy in the UK, according to a new survey.

The research, which was presented to the Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers’ annual conference, showed that South Lakeland and Eden ranked 145th out of all of the 273 local authorities in the country in relation to the happiness and well-being of its residents.

The study was carried out by the Universities of Manchester and Sheffield, using data from the authoritative British Household Panel Survey.

Top of the list was Powys in Wales with Manchester second and West Lothian third.

Barrow-in-Furness came 26th in the list and districts such as Lancaster and Preston were ranked ahead of South Lakeland and Eden. Bottom of the list was Edinburgh city.