A CITY has won its second national accolade in a week.

Only days after being voted the best British city by readers of the Conde Nast Traveller magazine, Durham has been named among the top 20 most desirable places to settle in Britain, in a report for the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Melanie Sensicle, chief executive of County Durham Tourism Partnership, said: "These two awards are fantastic achievements for Durham - those who know the city have for a long time been aware of its charms, and it's wonderful to see wider recognition.

"Durham has been for too long a 'best kept secret', now it's time for it to come out of the shadows."

Martin Boulton, the city's tourism officer, said: "No small amount of credit should go to our tourism services, the tourist information centre and our environment teams, because we were singled out for user-friendliness, value for money, cleanliness, and range and quality of leisure opportunities, cultural attractions and shops."