How can Stoke be rated a nicer city than Norwich?

A poll of thousands of people has found that Norwich is more popular than major cities including Manchester and Birmingham.

YouGov asked 55,000 people on their opinions towards 57 English, Welsh and Scottish cities and 72pc of respondents said they like Norwich.

This compares to 69pc for Manchester, 68pc for Liverpool and 40pc for Birmingham. Other cities which finished below Norwich in the poll included Glasgow, Cardiff, Bristol, Leeds and Derby.

Elsewhere, 75pc of people liked Stoke-on-Trent, and 77pc of people said they like Lincoln.

The poll revealed that York is the most liked city with more than nine in 10 Britons saying they like the northern city. Bath, Edinburgh, Chester and Durham made up the top five.

Bradford was at the bottom of the table, with only 23pc of respondents stating they like the West Yorkshire city. Only marginally behind was Wolverhampton on 24pc, with third from bottom being Sunderland at 30pc.

Stefan Gurney, executive director of Norwich Business Improvement District said: 'I think there's a very notable success in that.

'It's a good result though we would obviously like to be in the top 10 and there's some strange ones you wouldn't have though would be higher!

'It's a reflection of how well Norwich is considered in national life, it's seen in a really good light and changed it's national perception over the years.

'I think people see Norwich as a modern and forward thinking city.

'What Norwich offers is a really good work-life balance, culture and heritage.'

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