TWO North-East places have come in the top ten of a poll to find the worst in Britain.

Sunderland came third and Middlesbrough came tenth in the list, which was topped by Luton.

The list was drawn from the unfavourable opinions of 20,000 members of the public, polled for a new book.

Sunderland was described as a place where "residents shuffle around the town's meagre consumer options like zombies".

The verdict received a mixed reaction from Middlesbrough residents.

Shop worker Sara Banks said she thought the town would fail to register in the chart if the book's authors returned in a few years.

She said: "There are a lot of changes taking place in the town at the minute, and things can only get better. I really do not believe Middlesbrough is the tenth worst town in the country."

However, retired builder Ross Harrison believed the poll was accurate.

He said: "This used to be a hard-working town where people were proud to live.

"Now it just seems to be falling to pieces."

The results appear in Crap Towns II, a book published by The Idler, and is the follow-up to the first edition of the book, which was a surprise hit when it was published last year, selling 120,000 copies.

The authors said they were deluged with contributions this year.

The surprise entry in the list was Windsor, which came second, where the residents were criticised for believing they were members of royalty.