Kent is the Number One county in the United Kingdom for people to move to, according to a study.

The information, based on more than half a million address changes notified to Royal Mail, showed that just over 5,000 households moved into the county from outside its boundaries in a 12-month period. Another 12,600 moved home within the county.

Kent pipped its neighbour, West Sussex, to the post as the most desirable area to move to.

Although London and Surrey experienced a higher number of households moving in they also experienced significant numbers moving out, meaning neither made it into the UK top 10.

Kent people were found to be the most loyal in the UK, clocking up a substantial 12,646 internal moves. The average distance they travelled to relocate was just 5.39 miles.

Roger Gough, Kent County Council Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said the easy access to London and mainland Europe and the range of education and employment opportunities were among the reasons for people wanting to move to Kent.

Colin Bradshaw, Head of Data Strategy, Royal Mail, said: "Royal Mail delivers to 28 million addresses and receives more than a million requests each year from home movers wanting to redirect their mail. This gives us unique insight into the movement trends in the UK and allows us to identify the current county hotspots."

Sources: >~The Top 10 Most Desirable Areas was compiled using net move data – total moves into county versus total moves out of county - from September 2006 to August 2007.

~Royal Mail’s "Home Movers Barometer", managed and compiled by data value management specialist DQM Group, was based on 0.6 million mail redirection requests,