Love blooms in Midlands

The secret to a successful marriage may not be great romance, but life in a West Midlands suburb.

For a nationwide survey shows that Solihull, near Birmingham, has the highest proportion of married people - 74 per cent - which is almost 8 per cent more than the average.

Doncaster, Colchester and Ipswich all had more than 70% of the population married, but the study by the market researcher, Claritas, showed that cities such as London, Edinburgh and Oxford had the highest proportion of single people. Burnley in Lancashire emerged as top of the league for divorces. Nearly 18 per cent of the population were ex-wives and husbands - some three times the national average.