THREE East Lancashire towns have been shortlisted for inclusion in the latest edition of a controversial book outlining the worst places in the UK.

Fifty cities and towns will feature in ‘Crap Towns Returns’ and Blackburn, Bacup and Chorley are in the shortlist of 100.

The book, by journalist Sam Jordison and writer Dan Kieran, promises to ‘dish the dirt on the latest planning disasters, urban blight and posh blighters disfiguring our nation’.

Each town or city has been nominated by members of the public on the internet, through social media sites Facebook and Twitter and the book’s official website in a ‘proudly unscientific’ survey.

In 2003, Liverpool, Morecambe, Blackpool and St Andrews were all listed in the first edition of the book, with Hull coming in at number one. The book, ‘Crap Towns’ sold more than 100,0000 and was a popular Christmas stocking filler.

Blackburn MP Jack Straw described the book as a ‘completely ludicrous excercise’.

He said: “Given Blackburn’s and other similar towns’ industrial past - and the near collapse of its original raison d’etre, textiles - the area has shown remarkable improvement in recent years, including millions of pounds of investment in education, schools and colleges, the University Centre, health service and Youth Zone, shopping centre - footfall is up compared to many areas where it’s down - and great improvements in educational standards.

“Unemployment is only a little above the national average.

“One challenge the town has, where we do have a problem, is its evening and ‘night’ economy, which has deteriorated in recent years.”

MP for Rossendale Jake Berry said: “Anyone who has visited Bacup recently will see that the town is on the up with a fantastic new supermarket development, and stunning Lancashire countryside surrounding an historic town centre, with over 120 listed buildings.

“I’m proud to represent such a fantastic and historic mill town and I can’t begin to understand which idiot has suggested it is one of the worst places to live.”

Mayor of Chorley, Coun John Walker, said he was ‘very surprised’ Chorley was shortlisted. “Chorley is one of the best places to live,” he said.

“It’s got lovely parks, open spaces and a nice town centre. What more do you want?

“I’m quite staggered we should be listed. The majority of people like living in Chorley and the people I see and talk to are very complimentary about the town. But people might have different opinions. People say things on the internet they don’t always mean.”

Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, Coun Kate Hollern said she did not believe Blackburn should feature in the new book. She added: “The people of Blackburn are very resilient and it’s a place I absolutely love.”

SIX reasons to love Blackburn

1. Blackburn’s flagship town centre regeneration, including the Mall, won the national Design Award in the British Council of Shopping Centres Town Centre Environment Awards.

2. Football on the rooftop artificial pitch, big screen TVs, video game consoles and a place to chat with friends - all for 50p at Blackburn Youth Zone.

3. The town doesn’t even need to become a city to have its own cathedral. Blackburn Cathedral dates back to 1820 and £25m will soon make the Cathedral Quarter even better.

4. Monday to Friday people can enjoy modern life in a northern city but on a weekend we can escape to the spectacular scenes of Witton Country Park or trek up to Darwen Jubilee Tower.

5. The town is forever immortalised in a Beatles song We’ve been mentioned in a song by the greatest band EVER. ‘Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire’ the iconic John Lennon sang on the track ‘A day in the life’.

6. Corporation Park People walk their dogs and play football in a 165-year-old Victorian Park, Sam. Corporation Park is one of just 440 facilities of ‘exceptional historic interest’ meriting a Grade II listing.

Six reasons to love Chorley

1. Bradley Wiggins lives in the village of Eccleston and a gold post box stands outside the town hall in honour of his Olympic gold, won just days after he became the first Briton to win the Tour de France.

2. The town boasts two thriving markets. The Tuesday Flat Iron has a charter dating back to the 15th century.

3.  The magnificent Astley Hall was reportedly visited by Oliver Cromwell before the Battle of Preston and commands spectacular views from Astley Park.

4. Chorley cakes are enjoyed throughout the country as a tea time treat.

5. Former Coronation Street child actor Joe Gilgun is the star of the This Is England series and recently captured roles in Hollywood films.

6. The West Pennine Moors provide wonderful, diverse countryside and just minutes from the town centre.

Six reasons to love Bacup 

1. It’s the best preserved cotton town in England According to English Heritage, Bacup is the best preserved cotton town in the whole county.

2. Lee Quarry On the moor to the south of Bacup is a council-funded mountain bike trail, featuring over 8km of track with spectucular views.

3. The town centre Bacup town centre has been labelled a ‘conservation area of special architectural and historic interest’. Some of the oldest buildings include Fearns Hall (1696) and Forest House (1815).

4. Britannia Coconut Dancers Every Easter Saturday without fail, these ‘nutters’ dance through the streets from boundary to boundary of the town, performing folk dances with blackened faces that reflect a pagan or medieval background.

5. It’s a famous TV location Bacup has been used for several television programmes, including Juliet Bravo, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, part of the League of Gentlemen and the movie Girls’ Night.

6. The World Gravy Wrestling Championships Without a doubt one of the craziest culinary competitions in the world. It’s a wild and wonderful wrestling competition in a pool full of Lancashire gravy. Contestants wrestle for two minutes and are scored for entertainment factor.