Wolverhampton named the most miserable place in Britain

Wolverhampton is the least prosperous place in the UK, a new report has claimed.

The city topped the list of most miserable parts of Britain to live due to low incomes and unhappy residents.

Compiled by the Legatum Institute, which combined the wealth of an area with its happiness ratings from the Office for National Statistics, the report said: "Wolverhampton residents have an income of just over £18,000 a year and are the most miserable in the UK."

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Speaking to the Express and Star, executive director of the Institute, Sian Hansen, said: "Residents of Wolverhampton are almost twice as likely to be unemployed, and are more likely to be claiming a working-age benefit.

"A lack of opportunity not only makes the area poorer but perhaps more importantly it makes people feel more unhappy."

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But leader of the City of Wolverhampton Council Roger Lawrence argued that the research is out of date.

"Whilst it's fair to say that Wolverhampton took a battering during the recession with private investment pulled, traditional industries closing down and massive Government cuts, we're now seeing some really positive signs of recovery," he told the Independent.

For tourists visiting Wolverhampton, there is the tranquil Victorian West Park and buzzing Molineux football stadium to visit, along with the RAF Museum Cosford, Wolverhampton Art Gallery and National Trust property Wightwick Manor.

Meanwhile, nearby West Midlands borough Sandwell was named the second least prosperous place in Britain, causing outrage among locals.

The borough council's deputy leader Steve Eling questioned the methodology of the report. Speaking to local news site Express and Star he retorted: "These reports all tend to go on if you are deprived you must be miserable, it's not true.

"I find people are miserable in the South East and they earn more money - you couldn't find more miserable people and they are wealthier than we are, that's the impression I get.

London boroughs Brente, Croydon and Bexley also made the top ten list of the worst places to live in the UK.

Kensington and Chelsea topped the list of most prosperous places in Britain, while London boroughs Westminster and Wandsworth also featured in the top ten list, alongside Scotland's Outer Hebrides and the Orkney Islands.

Browse the ten 'most miserable places' in the UK below: