Feeling down on your luck? Move to Romford

Romford in Essex is the luckiest place to live in the UK, according to research carried out by the National Lottery.

With more than 300 residents banking a prize of £50,000 or more, the town is top of the league table of most fortunate places based on 17 years of lottery windfalls.

For the first time, the statistics have been calculated to include all prizes over £50,000, not just jackpot wins. One in 1,238 of adults in the Romford postcode (RM) has pocketed a prize of more than £50,000 since the Lottery began in 1994.

Enfield in north London came second, with one in 1,378 residents taking home a major prize. Dartford in Kent is third, with a major prize celebrated by one in 1,391 of its inhabitants. The top 10 also included Newcastle, Sunderland, Liverpool and Warrington.

Overall, the North East has banked the most big cheques, with more than 1,550 major prizes paid out. The region is closely followed by Wales and the north west of England as hotspots of good fortune.

"This is the first time we have included prizes of £50,000 upwards, giving a true snapshot of where the luckiest players are based," said a National Lottery spokesman. "It's fascinating to see that Essex remains one of the luckiest counties to live, where for many years Ilford has claimed a high percentage of jackpot prizes for its residents. Now Romford has picked up the winning streak – perhaps the only way really is Essex!

"With over 2,800 National Lottery millionaires now in the UK, every part of the UK should consider itself lucky."