A regional daily ran a special edition yeserday after carrying out its biggest survey of people living on its patch.

The Manchester Evening News splashed on its Greater Manchester Survey 2017 yesterday, and ran a total of 12 pages of coverage about the results.

More than 10,000 readers completed the in-depth online questionnaire, compiled using online questionnaire tool SurveyMonkey, which covered issues included happiness, mental health, transport and finance.

The survey revealed seven out of ten readers rated their happiness as 7/10 or higher, although there was huge concern for the state of the mental health services in Greater Manchester.

One in three saw the state of the roads as the biggest transport problem facing the patch, while one-in-four admitted to feeling lonely – with the highest incidence among the young.

More than one-in-three pay more than 30pc of their income in rent or mortgage, and more than one-in-five people in some parts of Greater Manchester said they had taken illegal drugs.

Ahead of May’s election of Manchester’s directly elected mayor, many readers said they knew nothing of the process or what powers the winner will have.

MEN editor Rob Irvine said: “The survey is a unique, in-depth look at what life is really like in Greater Manchester. It has put us even more in touch with our readers and we will be making sure that we address all the issues they have raised in the survey.”