VILLAGERS have hit back at a survey which found Jaywick is one of the worst places to live in England.

The village has been ranked eighth in the annual poll by satirical website iLiveHere.com, where the opinions of over 110,000 people were considered.

Jaywick’s Brooklands was officially listed as the most deprived area in the country for the third time running in 2020.

The Government report measures an area’s deprivation based on factors such poverty, crime, education and skill levels, unemployment and housing.

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But ward councillor Dan Casey said people like living in Jaywick.

“There’s more to Jaywick that simply statistics - and people love living here,” he said.

“We’ve got a wonderful beach and there’s a great community spirit here that has simply been lost in many other places.

“While there is some crime and trouble on occasion, people really do pull together and help each other.

“Pointless surveys aimed at mocking Jaywick’s poverty are not helpful - it’s probably just the impression people have been left with after watching benefits television shows.

“That does not reflect the whole picture here in Jaywick.

“We’ve also seen much regeneration in the past couple of years, with the first new council starter homes and the upgrade to roads in Brooklands.

“Things are looking better, but even more needs to be done if we don’t want to see Jaywick on the top of the official deprivation list in 2025.”

In 2021, iLiveHere.com’s survey also recorded Jaywick as the eight worst place to live.

It was described on the website as “Regularly topping the charts as England’s most deprived area, if you’ve never heard of it, it’s a shanty town built on the undercarriage of Clacton that makes even the worst bits of Blackpool seem like paradise”.

The worst place to live in England according to the website was Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire.

It was followed by Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, Luton in Bedfordshire, Liverpool in Merseyside, Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, Bolton in Greater Manchester, Corby in Northamptonshire, Jaywick, Slough in Berkshire and Bradford in West Yorkshire.