This Teesside town is responsible for more than a few 'firsts', not least its claim to be the first town in the world to owe its existence to a railway, owing to its proximity to the Stockton and Darlington Railway which was joined to Middlesbrough in the 1830's.
Is it really the Worst Place to Live in the UK? Discuss with others and rate the area >>
So what makes it the worst place to live in the UK? For starters health problems are at critical levels, with over a quarter of the inhabitants admitting to regular binge drinking. And there's the crime; Robbery, burglary, sexual assaults, violent crimes and car theft are all more than twice the UK average.
So live round here and you're in for double trouble! But down on the waterfront at Middlehaven the tide is turning, with a whopping £500 million being pumped into this vast new development, which is great news as long as Middlesbrough's criminal contingents don't set their sights on this place!
History lessons aside, perhaps this goes some way to explaining why Middlesbrough is so connected at the heart of the north east transport infrastructure. Major transport hubs, including Teesside International Airport and Teesport - the second largest port in the UK - are all within a short distance, making travel exceptionally easy.
Regeneration has long been a part of Middlesbrough's development, with the Middlehaven scheme giving a much-needed facelift to the Docklands area, with the £500 million project being designed to bring new business and housing.
MIMA, the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, takes that regeneration one step further - a £14.2 million cultural hotbed which seems to be the centrepiece of the town's tourism strategy, it's a new art gallery which opened at the beginning of 2007 in an attempt to bring international works and visitors to the Tees Valley. Better still, it's free to the public.
But while the more cultural-minded people of Middlesbrough and its visitors peek at the fine examples on display at MIMA, spare a thought for Cleveland Police, whose paperwork steadily piles up on its collective desks. With a local crime rate comfortably ahead in comparison with the rest of the UK on average, they clearly have their work cut out. Vehicle-related thefts are nearly three times more common here than the average across England, so parking your car out on the street could be more of a gamble than visiting the super casino which is being planned by Tees Valley Regeneration.
Performance at schools also fares unfavourably. For average GCSE and Key Stage Four scores, Middlesbrough is among the lowest boroughs in the country, proving that education is also a concern for a location which was ranked the sixth least desirable place to live in 2006, and fifth the previous year.
<< Go back to the index to learn about more places in the top and bottom 20
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Find out which borough was crowned the Best Place to Live in the UK>>
Local area info on Middlesbrough from upmystreet.com >>
Middlesbrough Council >>
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