'The worst place to live in the UK,” Luton, has left its residents saying they feel “unsafe”.
Stealing the coveted iLivehere title from Peterborough it claimed the title with 105,598 votes this year.
As told to theMirror, one resident described the town as "Slough comparable to the 'Playboy tax haven of Monaco'."
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Manager of the town centre’s Café Smaczek, Agnieszka Cwieluch, 45, told the Mirror she had been living there for 18 years and argued that how you see a place depends on “your perception”.
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The former University of Bedfordshire student said: "If you want to create the life you like it doesn't matter where you live, I think."
She explained how she was concerned about the safety of her teenage daughter in the town, however, and worried about “suspicious” people she saw around.
Agnieszka told the publication: "I wouldn't let my daughter go out for a few hours at night time."
She also expressed frustration that there are not "enough places for young people like my daughter".
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A second resident, Metin Bas, owns the Arndale Newsagency and has lived in Luton for 21 years.
The 50-year-old felt that the title was deserved, saying: "If you look in the evening, everyone shuts down. People are scared and I don't feel safe.
"Other people are scared to come to the town centre."
The Bedfordshire town has a wealth of high-street brands including H&M, JD Sports, Schuh and TK Maxx in its shopping centre, Luton Mall.
However, the outlet reports that many shops shut down as a result of the pandemic.
It also noted the majority of food outlets were fast food joints like Burger King and Chopstix Noodle.
On the high street, shops are dominated by pound stores and it has the highest number of people with no permanent accommodation in the East of England.
New research from Shelter found that more than 3,443 people in Luton are classed as homeless out of around 218,045 (2019) of its population.
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