Salcombe is one of the top 10 coastal towns in England and Wales, according to a magazine survey.

Coast Magazine ranked the picturesque South Hams town sixth in its recent poll.

The prestigious magazine said the town had low crime, wonderful beaches and quality restaurants.

Christchurch in Dorset took the top spot this year, followed by Falmouth, Cornwall, in second and the Sussex town of Brighton in third.

Other towns in the top 10 included Ventnor on the Isle of Wight, Whitby in Yorkshire and Tenby in Wales.

Salcombe Mayor Gaynor Tabiner said she was delighted with the town’s recognition.

"It is well deserved," she told the Herald Express. "The town itself is surrounded by beautiful beaches in an area that is an area of outstanding natural beauty."

However, Gaynor also noted that the town suffered from a high percentage of second homes.

This, she claimed, was driving young people away from the area. "If places come up for sale they are snapped up by holiday home owners," Tabiner said.

The average property in Salcombe now costs around £400,000, while the average salary is a lowly 18,000 - a price to income ratio of more than 20 - one of the worst in the whole country.

Salcombe is currently the second most expensive coastal town in the country. Only Sandbanks in Poole commands higher prices.

Coast Magazine editor Clare Gogerty said: "We trawled banks of official data to come up with the top 10 best coastal towns, rating them in terms of best schools, quality of coastline and employment."