A STUDY by a property website has found Bolton is the third most affordable commuter town to live within an hour of Manchester.

After researching combined season ticket and mortgage costs, Zoopla worked out the best value locations to live within an hour’s drive of five cities, including Manchester.

And it was discovered Bolton is only behind Wigan and Leigh in offering the most value for money for Manchester commuters.

The research made certain assumptions about typical mortgage costs, which were based on someone having a two or three bedroom home and a 15 per cent deposit for their mortgage with Bolton’s value given at £7,054.16. Hindley came in at £6,883.38 while Wigan was valued at £6,887.38.

Travel times and the 2020 annual railcard costs were taken from the National Rail enquiries website.

The other towns to make up the top five are Rochdale and Westhoughton.

Grays in Essex tops the list as the best value commuter spot for London.