Colchester ranked among worst UK cities for festive night out

Experts at online casino Casibella.com analysed various data before ranking the ten worst places across the country to venture out this holiday season.

The study was based on the number of bars, clubs and pubs in each area, the average cost of a pint, the average cost of a takeaway and safety scores for walking alone at night.

The company says this has been used to determine the “worst, most unsafe and least affordable” cities for partygoers in the UK.

Colchester was ranked the fifth worst city for nightlife with average pint costing £4 and the a McDonald's meal £8.

The city was also given a low safety score of 37 out of 100, according to people who have visited.

As a result, the overall score given to Colchester was just 41.53 out of 100, despite being given Purple Flag accreditation just weeks ago, which celebrates the best city centres.

Annoyed - city centre councillor Mark Goacher was not happy with the findings (Image: Public)
City centre councillor Mark Goacher slammed the findings.

He said: "Colchester has a great range of venues, bars and pubs.

"The Playhouse is hardly expensive is it and must be one of the most interesting looking low cost pubs in England.

"Pubs like the Odd One Out, the Foresters, the New Inn, the Victoria Inn, the Three Wise Monkeys and Other Monkey Brewing, alongside many others, are great, and we have a brilliant range of restaurants - the Yak and Yeti, Dice & Slice, the Noodle Bar All spring to mind.

"As for safety, the issues we have are common to any city and we are all working hard to alleviate them.

"The people conducting the survey should come on a proper Colchester pub and club crawl.

"The findings make no sense at all."

Fellow city centre councillor Steph Nissen agreed.

Defence - Colchester councillor for Castle, Steph Nissen has defended the city (Image: Newsquest)

She said: "Colchester has a thriving night-time economy which is clear from the diverse range of events and venues.

"Whatever your vibe, interest areas, or preferred music genre, there is truly something for everyone, from Hudson to Three Wise Monkeys.

"Yes, prices of a pint have risen, but so has the cost of a loaf of bread and pint of milk.

"Safety is a core priority and the enhanced Ask for Angela scheme is going well, however, we could benefit from some additional funding for this.

"But we also take care of each other, and most nights out pass without incident."

Elsewhere in Essex, Southend was awarding a final score of 42.35 out of 100, making it the seventh worst city for nightlife in the UK.

London was ranked number one, with a final score of just 26.39 out of 100.

A spokesman from Casibella.com said: “It is interesting that other cities in the study, from Armagh to Carlisle, are notably smaller and scattered across the nation.

“This suggests the quality of nightlife does not depend on the size of a city and can fluctuate around England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.”