'Stop knocking Blackpool, we love living here'

Blackpool attracts millions of tourists each year

Blackpool has been named as one of the most deprived areas in England, but those who live and work in the seaside resort say they are "fed up" of people dissing their hometown.

Many residents have rushed to Blackpool's defence, insisting there is more to the resort than the famous Tower and the Pleasure Beach, and calling local people "warm and vibrant" and the women "sassy".

Tourist figures would appear to agree. Figures for 2023 show the town attracted 21.5m tourists - a 6% increase compared to 2022, when the total number of tourists was 20.3m.

So what's it like to live in Blackpool, and why do these residents love their "brilliant" town.

Grace McCarrick loves being so close to the sea

'A really friendly place'

Grace McCarrick has settled in the resort, having commuting from Manchester every weekend for the past two and a half years in order to work as a singer in the local bars.

She made the move after meeting her now-fiancé.

"We were ready to move to Manchester, but we kept saying, 'oh, before we leave Blackpool, we need to go to Funny Girls, and we need to go to Twelve and have a meal, and we need to go to the circus at the top of the Tower and have food at the Beach House' - and we just had all of these things that we wanted to do," she said.

"But there was nothing that we were excited to go back to Manchester for, and we thought, why are we leaving?"

The 33-year-old said Blackpool has "so many thing that just aren't happening in other places - like ride the lights and the Santa Dash on the prom - and we love doing all of those little things".

"It's actually a really friendly place too," she said. "The people are brilliant."

In addition, the former teacher, now train driver, says Blackpool is surrounded by beautiful towns such as Cleveleys, Poulton and Lytham St Annes.

"You can't put a price on being close to the sea," she said. "There's something special about smelling salt in the air - it makes you feel free."

'Genuine goodness'

Eva Ripoll Breau said people who live in Blackpool have a "vibrancy and warmth"

Eva Ripoll Breau, who is originally from Spain, manages a clergy retirement home and has lived in the area since 1988.

She says she now calls the Fylde Coast "home".

Visitors to the resort can expect "to be energised by nature - with the sea on one side and the hills on the other, the vibrancy and warmth of our people, and the thriving pace of all that happens," she says.

"Don't get me wrong, it's not always a bed of roses," the 53-year-old admits, "but there is genuine goodness in the area".

"Don't tell me you wouldn't like it here."

BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing films an episode in Blackpool Tower Ballroom once every series, with participants eager to make it to the milestone event

Former teacher Kev Schools previously worked with children in care, and now runs an events production company in the resort.

He said: "Blackpool gets singled out a lot for being deprived and I'm fed up of it.

"I love it here. There are so many unique things about Blackpool.

"There's the obvious stuff - the Promenade is something else, it's got seven miles of beaches, you've got three piers, a pleasure beach, the illuminations...

"Stanley Park is one of the most stunning, beautiful parks I've ever been in, it's got an Art Deco cafe, athletics tracks, a bandstand. It's great for families but you never see it on TV - the cameras never go behind the Prom."

'Tough, but with a big heart'

Kev Schools said there is nothing like Blackpool

Above all, the 62-year-old believes it's the people that make Blackpool special.

"A lot of northern towns evolved round the factories and the mills - with a lot of men going out to work every day, and women tending to stay at home," he said.

"That didn't happen in Blackpool.

"It evolved as a tourist town, full of guest houses, and they were run by women - and it still is.

"I've always thought women in Blackpool are tough, but with a big heart.

"They're fierce and quite sassy. They hunt in packs, but they are all lovely.

"I think the men in Blackpool take a bit of a backseat in terms of hyper-masculinity, and that makes them a bit more tender and tolerant, I think."

Though he has lived in other towns and cities in England, as well as overseas, he says Blackpool will always be home.

"There's nothing like getting on the M55, heading into Blackpool and seeing the Tower," he said.

"It's my home and I ain't going nowhere."

Blackpool "evolved as a tourist town" famous for its piers, Tower, Illuminations and the Pleasure Beach