Organisers of the 10 Happiest Places to Live in Britain list have admitted they accidentally missed off Ipswich, Lowestoft and Haverhill.

The three Suffolk towns are all gorgeous, friendly and crime-free – and were marked as all being in the top ten when Rightmove surveyed 22,000 people across the UK.

But an administration error meant none made it to the list that was widely published this week.

Instead, horrendous and grubby places like Hexham in Northumberland, Harrogate in North Yorkshire and Dorset’s Dorchester were celebrated.

Rightmove insider Lorraine Fisher, 34, said: “We would like to apologise for missing Ipswich, Haverhill and Lowestoft from the list.

“They were all in the top ten – Ipswich was second – but somehow they all dropped out between the survey ending and publication.”

It is believed a member of staff from Norwich removed the Suffolk towns after being furious that nowhere from Norfolk made the list either.

“I cannot confirm or deny that,” added Ms Fisher.

The published list is (with house price average):

1 Hexham, Northumberland £254K*
2 Harrogate, North Yorkshire £341K
3 Richmond-upon-Thames, London £815K
4 Skipton, North Yorkshire £233K
5 Llandrindod Wells, Powys £145K
6 Altrincham, Gtr Manchester £520K
7 Monmouth, Monmouthshire £310K
8 Dorchester, Dorset £295K
9 Sevenoaks, Kent £684K
10 Southport, Merseyside £209K

However, the actual list should have been:

1 Hexham, Northumberland £254K*
2 Ipswich, Suffolk £589K
3 Harrogate, North Yorkshire £341K
4 Richmond-upon-Thames, London £815K
5 Lowestoft, Suffolk £101K
6 Llandrindod Wells, Powys £145K
7 Monmouth, Monmouthshire £310K
8 Dorchester, Dorset £295K
9 Sevenoaks, Kent £684K
10 Haverhill, Suffolk £63K