Jaywick

Eight years ago Jaywick had the highest rate of outright property ownership in the area but that has gone into reverse, said Stock.

Essex resort of Jaywick named England's most deprived town 2011

Jaywick Sands was built in 1928 as a resort by Fabian property developer Frank Stedman.

Essex resort of Jaywick named England's most deprived town 2011

Despite its problems, Jaywick still possesses character.

Essex resort of Jaywick named England's most deprived town 2011

So how did Jaywick – or more specifically the Brooklands estate – get here, having overtaken Breckfield in Anfield, Liverpool?

Essex resort of Jaywick named England's most deprived town 2011

With its magnificent miles of golden sand it's hard to imagine how Jaywick stumbled first on hard times and then disappeared into the abyss.

Essex resort of Jaywick named England's most deprived town 2011

After the second world war most plotlands were bulldozed but the Jaywick residents hung on, even going to court in 1970 and succeeded in preserving it.

Essex resort of Jaywick named England's most deprived town 2011

Those incomers aren't necessarily what an old community like Jaywick needs.

Essex resort of Jaywick named England's most deprived town 2011

Neil DaviesHassocks, East Sussex • Your article on Jaywick Sands The Essex resort named England's most deprived town, 29 March neglects to mention its greater cause for fame: 37 people died there in the great east coast flood of 1953.

Letters: Talented Mr Ripley 2011

At the opposite end of the scale, the Hertfordshire suburb of Chorleywood, where houses cost 30 times as much as property in Jaywick, is named least deprived.

Essex resort of Jaywick named England's most deprived town 2011

Jaywick, a ward of Tendring district council in north-east Essex, has earned the unhappy distinction of being placed first in the dauntingly named Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2010.

Essex resort of Jaywick named England's most deprived town 2011