A Kent seaside district has been revealed as one of the unhappiest places in the UK by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), despite people's spirits reportedly being raised at national levels.

Folkestone and Hythe district - referred to as its former name of Shepway in the data - did not fare well in the new survey of British life satisfaction released this week.

The district, which also includes Romney Marsh, scored 6.84 for happiness, compared to the happiest place, Rushmoor, which was rated 8.35 out of 10 by residents living in those areas.

The average mean ratings across the four measures of personal wellbeing in Britain in the year ending March 2018 were 7.7 out of 10 for life satisfaction, and 7.9 out of 10 for feeling that the things done in life are worthwhile.

Anxiety scored at 2.9 out of 10, while happiness scored 7.5, putting the Kent district below the national average rating.

ONS had updated the wellbeing survey to consider health, access to services and crime levels.

The unhappiest place was Fenland in Cambridgeshire, which scored 6.7.

The data reported that in the year ending March 2018, 34.9% of people aged 16 and over in the UK reported their happiness as very high at 9 and 10 out of 10.

There was no change in the short term from the year ending March 2017, but there was an improvement in the long term up from 31.1% in March 2013.

Commenting on the statistics, council leader David Monk said: "I fail to understand how the district can be ranked so poorly by this survey.

"The results are contrary to the feedback that we receive and couldn’t be further from my perception of the district.

"I don’t know how this study was conducted but the results of it are clearly a statistical aberration.”

A council spokeswoman said: "We think that the district of Folkestone & Hythe is a fantastic place to live.

"We have a superb natural environment with beautiful beaches which continually score the highest ratings from the Environment Agency on the cleanliness of their bathing waters.

"Three of our open spaces have been awarded a green flag which means they’re amongst the best in the country.

"We are below the national average for unemployment, and are pursuing a number of ambitious projects which will continue to deliver more affordable homes and improved facilities across the district."