Southend culture jibe MP tours Hastings

An MP who dismissed rivals bidding against Southend to become the UK's City of Culture has been taken on a tour of the highlights of Hastings.

Leader of the East Sussex council, Jeremy Birch, invited David Amess to the town after he described contenders to become UK City of Culture in 2017 as "absolute dumps".

Hastings and Bexhill are mounting a joint challenge for the title, along with 10 other bidders, including Southend, in Essex.