PEOPLE in the North-East put their southern counterparts to shame in the generosity stakes, research published last night shows.

While the high-fliers of London are the most miserly in the country when it comes to giving to good causes, the good people of Sunderland are officially the most charitable.

The city's residents were named the kindest in the land by a major survey - despite many struggling to afford their donations.

Experian, commissioned by The Giving Campaign, found that donations to charity were most prevalent among people living in council houses.

They are least likely to come from the affluent households of London and the South-East.

Sunderland topped the table of 114 towns and cities for its kindliness, closely followed by Blackpool, Motherwell, Dundee and Newcastle.

Teesside is ranked the 12th most charitable area, with Durham 20th and Darlington 23rd.

By contrast, despite their comparative wealth, stingy Londoners sit rock bottom of the league, with Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, languishing in 90th place.

Amanda Delew, director of The Giving Campaign, said: "It is staggering to think that, although the better-off have more money than ever, it is the poorer people in society who are giving their money to good causes. While there are many wealthy people who do give to charity, often very generously, there are too many who don't.

"I'd like to see people across the UK working to generate a culture of giving, where it is natural for people - particularly the wealthy - to give generously towards the good causes they care about."

The survey found that people most likely to give to charity were those in council housing, relying on state benefits, earning a low rate of income, unemployed or retired.

Those least likely to donate were higher-rate taxpayers, with spacious homes and expensive leisure interests.

Young professionals, mainly living in inner city areas with no children, were also prone to not dipping into their pockets for good causes.