A seaside town with an impressive pier has ben named one of the worst in the country according to a new survey by Which? magazine.
Southend-on-Sea ranked 41st out of 50 on the list compiled by the consumer magazine, done every year to compare the best and worst seaside destinations across the UK.
Despite traditionally being a seaside town Brits flock to, the Essex resort scored a 53 percent customer score, compared with Bamburgh, the number one spot, on 86 percent.
Which? ranks each seaside town based on nine factors, all of which get a star rating out of 10 by the nearly 5,000 people they surveyed.
The factors are: beaches, value for money, seafront/pier, food and drink, tourist attractions, scenery, shopping, parking, and peace and quiet.
Southend didn’t score higher than three stars on any of these factors, even scoring one star on two of them – scenery and peace and quiet.
The seaside town managed to claw back some points with its seafront/pier, tourist attractions, and shopping – all of which scored three stars. It then scored two stars for its beaches, value for money, food and drink, and parking.
If you haven’t been put off by its poor ranking on the list, you can book a hotel there for an average cost of £111, according to the average rate from Kayak.
Southend wasn’t the only traditional seaside town that scored poorly, with Great Yarmouth, Blackpool, Clacton, Skegness, and Bognor Regis all receiving unimpressive results.
One visitor who was particularly unimpressed with Southend wrote on Tripadvisor: “Visited with teenagers for a shopping day. Hadn’t been back to my home town for 10 years so was eagerly anticipating a good day in The Royals and high street.
“What a dump. The shopping centre was had barely and people or shops, the security staff were beyond ignorant and the town itself was full of boarded up shops, charity shops and mobile phone repair shops. It should be twinned with Beirut. Avoid at all costs!!”