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A national survey suggested people living in the city were some of the most miserable around.
The only other places where you were even more likely to be down were Aberystwyth, in west Wales, which topped the list, and London.
Residents of Chelmsford, in Essex – home of Britvic’s world headquarters and the UK’s first ball bearing factory – came out top when it came to being chirpy.
Leicester’s top residents jumped to the city’s defence today, saying the 3,000 families surveyed by online family database Uinvue.com did not know what they were on about.
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Leicester City legend Alan Birchenall said: “It’s a load of old dewberries.
“This survey was obviously carried out by people from Nottingham and Derby – I can’t think of any other explanation.
“What have we got to be unhappy about? What about Leicester City on the way up? Tigers are flying at the moment and the cricket club has just signed a world-class international.
“Outside of sport, we’ve just opened a fantastic shopping centre, we’ve got the best fish and chip shops in the Midlands and we’ve got the prettiest girls in the country – and I can vouch for that.
“I can’t think of a single thing to be unhappy about.”
The survey included questions about journey times to work, workloads and time spent with loved-ones.
It found people in Leicester were less likely to live near family and less likely to have close friends to call on in an emergency.
Leicester City Council leader Councillor Ross Willmott said: “I hardly think this reflects a true picture of how families feel about living in Leicester.
“You have to take the findings with a pinch of salt.”
Leicester’s hugely popular comedy festival, now in its 17th year, kicks off next month, with more than 300 shows at 40 different venues entertaining thousands of people.
Organiser Geoff Rowe said Leicester was a “fun” and “vibrant” city – even when the festival was not on. He said: “We’ve got Europe’s longest-running comedy event, which is testament to the people of Leicester and their comedy-loving nature.
“I can think of lots of other places which aren’t as fun or as vibrant as Leicester.”
Singer-songwriter and proud local Jersey Budd, from Countesthorpe, said: “There’s loads of things to make you happy in Leicester and loads of things to be proud of.
“We’ve got the world’s biggest live band at the minute with Kasabian and a great sporting scene.
“People shouldn’t take too much notice of what surveys like this say.”
Tigers, England and British and Irish Lions scrum-half Harry Ellis, from Wigston, said that there was no better place to live.
He said: “Leicester is brilliant. It is my home city, I am proud of it. The diversity of the city is second to none and there is beautiful and spectacular countryside around the county.”
Leictester Mercury
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