BROMSGROVE is the top town in the West Midlands for social inclusion and equality, according to an index covering towns and cities across the region.

Business and financial adviser Grant Thornton UK LLP compiled the Vibrant Economy Index, which rates communities using a variety of social and economic factors.

Bromsgrove topped the West Midland's scores for social inclusion and equality - scoring 105.1, which places it 50th out of 324 local authority areas in England.

The town also scored high for health, wellbeing and happiness, and achieved an average score for prosperity and community, trust and belonging.

However it was marked below average for dynamism and opportunity and resilience and sustainability.

David Hillan, practice leader at Grant Thornton in Birmingham, said: "It’s clear from these results that pockets of Worcestershire are doing well, particularly in creating inclusive communities where people not only benefit from economic growth, but also feel engaged and are happy and healthy."

Also scoring well in the index was the Malvern Hills, which is the top regional town on the health, wellbeing and happiness indicator, and Worcester, which topped the West Midland's scores for community, trust and belonging.

The index is based on 52 indicators of performance, including economic measures such as Gross Value Added (GVA), educational attainment and average incomes.

It combines economic measures with data around fuel poverty, obesity levels, air quality and crime rates to give a picture of how a place is performing - not just economically, but also socially.

Each place is given a 'vibrancy score', with 100 being the average.