WINCHESTER has been pegged as the best spot to see Father Christmas based on the amount of light pollution.

As Christmas gets closer, many children across the UK will be preparing to catch a glimpse of Santa’s sleigh flying over on Christmas Eve.

However, according to the Campaign to Protect Rural England 78 per cent of the UK’s night sky is polluted by light, making Father Christmas harder to see in typically more urban areas.

Nevertheless, based on data from Clear It Waste Clearances, Winchester has come out on top for where’s best to spot Santa - beating all other UK cities with a population of more than 100,000.

READ MORE: Special park & ride timetable announced for Christmas in Winchester

Clear It Waste Clearances used lightpollutionmap.info to create three categories, sky quality meter, the Bortle scale (night sky brightness) and the artificial brightness of each area, from which to calculate a combined light pollution index score.

Hampshire Chronicle:

*For reference, SQM numbers want to be higher, while Bortle Scale and Artificial Brightness scores want to be lower

Winchester came first with a score of 9.43 out of 10. A sky quality meter score of 20.09, a best-in-class Bortle score of five and the lowest artificial brightness score of any city on the list, making it the ideal spot on Christmas Eve to try and see Father Christmas.

Hampshire Chronicle:

Second, was Chichester with a score of 9.03 due to a slightly lower artificial brightness rating. Meanwhile, bottom of the list at number 50 was London with a score of 0.37 out of 10.

The list of cities was taken from gov.uk with measurements being made from the centre of each location. All data was completed on November 22, 2022 and is correct as of then. For more on the rubbish removal company behind the research go to clearitwaste.co.uk/.