TAUNTON is among six towns in Somerset in contention to be named the UK's most depressing place to live.

Voters were asked by ILiveHere.co.uk to vote for towns which evoked 'bland, boring, soul destroying mediocrity with a gaping cultural void... the towns where you just exist rather than live'.

153 British towns made the shortlist, and Taunton currently has 0.56% of the vote, ranking more depressing than towns such as Walsall, Coventry, Skegness, and Hull.

Other Somerset towns which made the shortlist include Yeovil with 2.25% of the vote, Wells which currently has 1.16%, Chard with 0.41%, Weston-Super-Mare with 0.25%, and Frome with 0.09%.

Yeovil has reportedly made 'big gains' in the poll this week, hosted by ILiveHere.co.uk.

A spokesperson for ILiveHere said: "From home counties commuter dormitories that close down at 10pm to seaside resorts that are ghost towns in winter, this poll is about them.

"Tourist traps like Padstow that have been expunged of locals to make way for weekend AirBnBs or places that exist solely to part Americans from their money like Edinburgh and Canterbury.

"This poll covers the length and girth of Great Britain taking in Scotland and Wales for the first time."