Strabane named as third worst in United Kingdom

Strabane, Co Tyrone has been named the third worst place to live in the United Kingdom.

Strabane, Co Tyrone has been named the third worst place to live in the United Kingdom.

Rankings in a survey for Channel 4 television were based on statistics in five categories - crime, education, employment, environment and lifestyle - from all 434 local authorities in the UK.

Strabane finished behind England's Hull and Nottingham. Strabane's poor performance was partly because the percentage of economically active people is 68.2 per cent, compared to an average of 74.1 per cent.

The number of claimants on job-seekers allowance is more than double that of the UK average.

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When it came to the best place to live, Epsom and Ewell, won points for being under an hour away from London's Gatwick and Heathrow airports. The population of 67,710 has 35 parks and open spaces, as well as Epsom Downs, home of the Derby, and Epsom Common.

The City of Westminster, in London, came second, thanks to open spaces like St James's Park, Hyde Park, Regents Park and Kensington Gardens. The borough also won points for being "filled to the brim with fabulous bars and restaurants" and for containing the trendy West End, which contains most of London's theatres.

Harrogate in Yorkshire came third - it has above average sunshine hours of 1680.3 per year and less rainfall than average.

The results of the survey were being broadcast tonight on Channel 4's The Best and Worst Places to Live in the UKat 8pm.

PA