SHEBBEAR has been named as one of the 20 best places to raise a family in a new report.

The 'Family Friendly Hotspots Report' has placed Shebbear 15th best place to raise a family in England and Wales. It is the third year in a row the village has made it on to the list, having finished sixth in 2012.

The village scored well in the criteria due to its very low crime rates of 0.03, a sixth of the national average.

The village also has high achieving schools at all levels, with 57% of GCSE students achieving A* to C grades in core subjects. Shebbear is also popular with families with young children, with 40% of early years care centres rated as outstanding.

The report has been published by children's savings provider Family Investments.

Kate Moore, head of savings and investments at Family Investments said: 'People's priorities change once they have a family and they often end up moving house as a result.

'A huge number of factors determine whether a town is a good place to bring up a family and everyone will have a slightly different idea about the qualities required.

'However, we have tried to be as comprehensive as possible in taking into account the attributes that make up a family friendly location and measured 67 factors in total.

'These include property prices, average salaries, crime rates, school results and leisure activities.

'Parents can visit our online tool and see how their current postcode performs in the main family friendly categories.

'They can also compare their current location against other places they might like to live.'

The unique study identifies the top 20 postcodes providing the best range of essential and desirable factors for family living.

This in-depth picture of all 2,400 postcodes across England and Wales has been managed with the analysis of 67 different data sets by Calnea Analytics, a leading provider of property market analysis and data to all sectors of the UK economy. Information gathered from Land Registry Information, Ofsted reports, ONS population data and police figures were among the data sets analysed.

As well as looking at the essentials of family living, including school results and property affordability, lifestyle factors are also considered, including parks and green spaces, existing population of parents with young children, and leisure facilities.