Many who live in the seaside town of Littlehampton believe it is a delightful coastal haven.

But it seems many more would disagree, having voted it one of the top 20 "crappiest" towns in the UK.

For once, it was the only Sussex spot to make it high up in the dubious chart compiled by The Idler magazine, which asked 20,000 people to name the 50 worst towns.

In previous years scathing reports have been given on Bognor, Brighton and Bexhill among others but this time they escaped censure.

Littlehampton, coming 18th, beat last year's winners, Hull, by one place and came just below London.

Among some of the more choice entries about the town were: "It's a dump, stinks and has nothing good going for it.

"Go there for a weekend and experience crap."

When The Argus paid a visit to Littlehampton yesterday to find out if the rank was accurate some residents were quick to jump to its defence.

John Herr, 26, of St Mary's Close said: "I'm from Liverpool originally and my wife and I lived in Croydon in London but when she got pregnant we moved here, where she is from.

"It's really laid-back, the people are friendly and the beach is nice."

Robin Adams, 35, of East Street was surprised to see his town so derided.

He said: "I can't believe we're so near Brixton on the list."

However, he admitted there was not a lot to do, particularly for young people.

Monica Dibble, 62, who works in the lifeboat shop, said: "I used to live in Birmingham and people don't realise how much safer it is in a small town like this.

"Of course there are unruly kids around but you get that everywhere."

Harbourmaster Colin Hitchcock said the quayside had completely changed in the ppast few years.

He said: "Three years ago this place looked awful with derelict wharfs, groups of drunks on the slipway and planks of wood as moorings.

"No one stopped here in their boats on the way from France, Germany and Holland but now we have an excellent amount coming in and they don't want to tell their friends about it because they want to keep it to themselves."

However, there were plenty more who agreed with The Idler's assessment.

A council worker who did not wish to be named said she thought Littlehampton should be second on the list after Luton which came top in the poll.

Paul and Nati Smith said they had decided to move to Spain after growing disillusioned with the rising cost of life in Littlehampton.

Paul, 30, of St Floras Road, said: "I wouldn't want to live here for the rest of my life. In Spain you are paid less but you have more money in your pocket."

Sergeant Mick Potter said: "We always have hotspots of trouble involving young people during the summer and this year it was Littlehampton.

"The dispersal order we put in place in the town centre in early summer was very effective."

He said in places like Littlehampton there were a lot of older people who found groups of youngsters intimidating.

Heidi Tribe, 19, works at Lunn Poly on the High Street and said the town was not very good for shopping but it stopped her spending all her money in her lunch hour.

"I know lot of our customers now and there is a real community atmosphere."

Littlehampton may have been the only Sussex town to make the top 20 but others still came in for some censure.

One man, writing about Burgess Hill, said: "No one who has ever been could raise even the slightest doubt that Burgess Hill is the epicentre of all that is bad about Britain and I lived there for 18 long years."

Another commentator writes about Eastbourne: "As you enter, marvel at our oddly terrifying water treatment plant. Affectionately dubbed "the shit castle" by the locals because, well mainly because it looks like the kind of thing an ancient hacksawed old maniac may live in. Pass it by, and let its silhouette be branded forever on to your retinas - let it shape and mould your experience in our fair town of Eastbourne."

The poll is published in Crap Towns II - The Nation Decides, a sequel to last year's Crap Towns.