Norfolk and Suffolk have been named among the counties offering the best quality of life to retirees.

Places in southern and eastern England dominated the top 10 list from Prudential, with West Sussex coming in at number one and Dorset, East Sussex and Devon also identified as hotspots.

To make the findings Prudential examined data including disability-free life expectancy, access to healthcare, crime levels, pensioner populations, healthy lifestyles and the weather, from the Office for National Statistics and the Met Office.

Stan Russell, a retirement income expert at Prudential, said: 'There are now 10.6 million people aged 65 or over in England and Wales, a million more than five years ago, and accounting for nearly one in five of the total population. So deciding on the right place to retire to is a challenge faced by a huge number of people each year.

'Our analysis shows that every part of the country has something different to offer pensioners, but the counties with the most attractive attributes tend to be along the southern and eastern coasts of England. Counties like West Sussex and Dorset may be attractive because of their low crime rates or the quality of their health care.'

Here are the overall quality of life in retirement rankings, according to Prudential:

1. West Sussex

2. Dorset

3. East Sussex

4. Devon

5. Norfolk

=6. Oxfordshire

=6. Worcestershire

8. Isle of Wight

=9. Suffolk

=9. North Yorkshire