HE HAS made a living out of making people laugh - and says Southampton audiences are the happiest in the UK.

As reported in the Daily Echo last week, a national survey claimed that Southampton people are the most miserable in the country.

Southampton-born comic and impressionist Mike Osman has branded the survey, which quizzed 2,000 people about how happy they are, as "rubbish".

He says Southampton is a great breeding ground for comedians and believes there are no better comedy venues than The Mayflower theatre.

Mike, whose career began in a talent show at the Saints pub in Millbrook, has starred in television and radio shows and regularly tours the country's top theatres.

The 45-year-old from Rownhams said: "I'm absolutely gobsmacked. This survey is total rubbish. I've lived here all my life, even when I was working at Capital Radio in London every morning.

"People would ask me why I didn't move and I would tell them I lived in the most fantastic city in England.

"Benny Hill was a Southampton comedian and he's now one of the biggest television exports to America. Southampton's Mayflower theatre is renowned as a fantastic comedy theatre. By and large that is because of the audiences."