THE DEPUTE lord provost has defended Dundee’s reputation after it was ranked among the top 100 worst places to live in the UK.

Described as being full of “violently drunk neds,” the city has secured the dubious honour of being shortlisted for inclusion in a book of worst UK towns.

However, Charles Farquhar said the guide was “ignorant” and described Dundee as a first-class city which stands in comparison with any other town or city in UK.

“I certainly would stand by Dundee—it has a lot to offer,” said Mr Farquhar.

“Look at the architecture, look at the parks, facilities, amenities, housing, hostelries—Dundee is a first-class city which stands in comparison with any other in the UK.

“The people who compiled this book are ignorant of the facts.

“They must be strangers from out of this world, never mind out of this city who don’t know the time of day.

“Like any other city, Dundee has its hiccups from time to time—but is no worse than any other.

“In fact it’s better than most.”

Dundee East MSP Shona Robison was also less than impressed with the authors of the report, saying, “The comments about Dundee are ignorant, patronising and wrong. They must have been made by people who have never been in the city.

“Dundee has a quality of life second to none and I would challenge the authors to come to Dundee and we will show them around and they can then make a public apology in City Square.”

The book, Crap Towns II, is the successor to the original Crap Towns, a surprise hit when it was published last October and sold more than 120,000 copies. In that edition, Hull topped a table of 50 towns.

The book will later reveal the ultimate winner from a shortlist of 100 undesirable towns. Readers’ votes were weighted in accordance with each town’s population, to allow smaller nominees a chance at the top 50.

Meanwhile, the views on Dundee included:

* “Dundee was full of nice old buildings and rich in heritage until crazed locals started to burn them all down.”

* “Many were desperate for warmth in the cold winter. Maybe they were desperate to build the concrete monstrosities that have replaced them.”

* “Maybe, and most probably, after a lifetime spent on the local diet of deep fried pizzas and Tennent’s Super they were just plain mad.”

* “Dundee would be a lovely town to walk around if it weren’t for the presence of all those violently drunk neds—it would also be empty.”

The top 100 worst towns shortlist also includes Airdrie, Glasgow, Motherwell, Sauchie and Edinburgh.