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Relief for Yorkshire city stigmatised in TV show
Alexandra Wood THE London district of Hackney has pushed Hull out of the rankings as the worst place to live in the UK.
The east London borough has been branded the least appealing of all 434 local authorities in Channel 4's The Best and Worst Places to Live in the UK, being broadcast on Thursday.
Hull, whose inclusion sparked anger when it was ranked the worst 12 months ago, has disappeared from this year's top 10, along with Mansfield and Salford.
Instead it is repeat offender Hackney which goes to the bottom of the class, based on statistics in five categories; crime, education, employment, environment and lifestyle, closely followed by three other London boroughs and Merthyr Tydfil, in south Wales.
The rundown is presented by property hunter Phil Spencer, who said: "We've only just come out of hiding after the storm this show created last year. But it's all based on official data. We're merely presenting the facts, harsh as they may be."
Fellow presenter Sofie Allsopp said: "All the research is rock solid. We look at every single local authority, all 434 of them."
But that's not the view in Hull, slated last year for its high crime rate, poor record on educational achievement and label as the country's fattest city. Coming at a time when many millions of pounds were being poured into regeneration schemes, the TV show dealt a major blow to attempts to improve the city's image and infuriated many.
Yesterday Jonathan Levy, who runs a local communications company, said: "It just demonstrates what flimsy foundation the original accolade was based on.
"While we know the city has a lot of challenges we know Hull has a lot going for it and certainly isn't the worst place in the country and never has been."
The worst places to live
1. Hackney, east London
2. Tower Hamlets,
east London
3. Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales
4. Newham, east London
5. Islington, north London
6. Middlesbrough
7. Nottingham
,8. Strabane,
Northern Ireland
9. Blaenau Gwent, south Wales
10. Manchester.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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