League table that tells you where the beautiful people live

Research published today shows men and women living in Westminster, the City and Kensington and Chelsea score highest in physical desirability.

Bottom of the list of the capital's boroughs are Bromley, Newham and Barking and Dagenham.

Psychologists attribute the findings to the fact that affluent people smile more, appear less stressed and lead the way in influencing society's perceptions of beauty.

Dr Viren Swami, a physical attraction expert who led the Westminster University study, said: "We're obviously thought to be attracted to people from areas we're familiar with - people also tend to live near people who look like them.

"It could also be that people who are wealthier smile a lot. They get to shape what is perceived as beautiful in their own image, like being extremely thin, because they have influence.

"This also demonstrates a subtle prejudice about where people come from."

Experts have long thought that our perception of looks is linked to how healthy people are because this determines their ability to survive and reproduce.

But the Westminster study appeared to show there was no link between how attractive people were rated and their life expectancy.

The only other similar research was compiled by Victorian thinker Sir Francis Galton.

This rated women in Aberdeen the least desirable and those in London the most beautiful.

In his autobiography, Galton revealed how he categorised women as "attractive, indifferent or repellent". But his ratings were based on his personal observations of female beauty throughout the British Isles.

The Westminster study, published in the journal Personality And Individual Differences, was based on questionnaires completed by 461 people from diverse backgrounds.

They were asked to award a "beauty" score to men and women in all London boroughs and the City of London. Nine was the highest-rating and meant people in the borough were extremely attractive, especially if a survey participant was familiar with the area.

The researchers then looked at factors in every borough, such as life expectancy, house prices and gross salaries.

This data was provided by the London Health Observatory, which compiles information on health and equality.

The researchers now plan to investigate the beauty ratings of each street in the capital using similar methods.

Ugly borough? Bromley puts on a brave face

Natalie Davis, 17, A-level student

There are a few hot guys but the attractiveness of people around here has gone down. Primark has some really nice stuff so wealth doesn't equal attractiveness as it doesn't cost a lot to look good. But more money means you have more time to spend on yourself.

Shenay Wilks, 24, bank clerk

Although recently there has been a lot more "gold medallion" crew hanging around here, I think we're probably better looking than some areas in London, to be fair, as not everyone who lives in Bromley is the kind of person that you would see out on a Friday night.

Michael Freckleton, 22, arrangement negotiator

There are a lot of attractive girls around here - Keeley the page three model went to my school.

Helen Gibbons, 21, university student

Bromley girls are dressing better than they used to. The guys are average but a bit heavy on the aftershave. Bromley is worse off in terms of looks than any other part of London.