Eastbourne has been voted one of Britain's worst places to be young.

The town came third in a poll comparing the number of pubs, nightclubs and concert venues with the number of undertakers and OAPs' homes.

Worthing topped the list, with Bognor in second place.

All three have more care homes than pubs. The seaside resorts trio boast a total of 12 clubs and five cinemas, compared with 132 OAP homes.

The statistics have won them the dubious title of Worst Towns To Be Young In, beating other national treasures such as Lowestoft in Suffolk and Somerset's Weston Super Mare.

But civic leaders today hit back at the survey.

Eastbourne mayor Olive Woodall sprang to the town's defence.

She said: "These claims are out of date. They may have applied 20 years ago but we now have lots of things for youngsters to do. It's not a boring town at all.

"The bandstand is used for pop groups, we have a skate park, and since the marina was built there are lots of places to go out. There are more young people in Eastbourne than elderly people, and that information comes from official statistics.

"It's as good a place as any for young people to live."

Eastbourne MP Nigel Waterson said: "This is the same tired old stereotype which gets trotted out when people can't think of anything better to do.

"I have a young family and I think there are plenty of things to do in Eastbourne.

"I'm sure we could provide more facilities but Eastbourne is a good place to be a young person or an elderly person."

The survey was commissioned by drinks firm After Shock and compared towns across the country on criteria "to determine the levels of boredom and despair they will induce in young adults".

These included the number of pubs, clubs, cinemas and sports venues in a town versus its undertakers, OAP homes and bingo halls.