Experts have uncovered which UK cities are the best for seniors to find love - and Southend is in the top 20.

Google search interest for “best senior dating sites” has surged by 50 per cent in the past months as the number of over 65s living alone in the UK reached 4.19 million last year.

The experts at Lottie analysed the number of senior users on the online dating platform, Match.com, plus the over 60s population in cities around the UK, to discover the top dating hotspots for retired singles.

Southend ranked 19th alongside Derby in the list, receiving a final "senior dating score" of 6.4 out of 10. 

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With 365 over 60s Match.com users out of all 45,915 in the area, Southend also scored a 7.6/10 for the proportion of over 60s Match.com users to its senior population.

The research by Lottie revealed Manchester is the top dating hotspot for the over 60s, earning a final "senior dating score" of 9.2 out of 10.

The worst city for the over 60s seeking love, according to Lottie, is Lisburn (0.9/10). 

Having the third lowest senior users on Match.com, the Northern Irish city sees only 43 out of all 34,436 senior singles actively looking for love.

To see the full list of Lottie's  top 10 cities for over 60s to find love, click here.