COLCHESTER has been ranked as the best value commuter hotspot for London.

According to Zoopla’s commuters affordability index, the town offers the cheapest combined annual mortgage and season ticket costs of £13,288, with a 49-minute commute into Liverpool Street station.

Manningtree follows as the fourth best in the UK.

The property website calculated residents pay £13,753 a year - nearly £500 more than in Colchester - and spend 59 minutes on the train.

Milton Keynes, Sittingbourne, Luton, Chatham and Folkestone were at the bottom of the table.

Last year Colchester also made headlines for being a university town with the third highest house price rises.

Online estate agents, Housesimple.com, revealed house prices had risen from £211,799 to £267,124 since 2015.