City ranks bottom in poll of 827 worldwide

Wolverhampton has been ranked worst out of 827 cities worldwide by readers of a travel magazine – a second blow for the city in just a few weeks.

Despite being nominated in the Top City category of the Wanderlust Travel Awards, more than 2,000 readers named Wolverhampton as the least desirable city to visit.

Luang Prabang, in Laos, climbed to the number one spot for the third time with a 94 per cent satisfaction rating among voters. Just 20 per cent of voters were satisfied with Wolverhampton.

The results come as a second blow after travel guide Lonely Planet said it was the fifth worst city in the world, ranked alongside crime-ridden cities like Detroit.

Today it also emerged Wolverhampton is set to feature in the next Lonely Planet guide to Great Britain, after the travel bible said a writer could visit within the next six months.

And if they are impressed by the delights on offer, including St Peter's Church, the internationally-renowned art gallery and lively night life, the city will be given its own section in the 2011 book.

Travel editor Tom Hall said: "Every place is judged on its merits and if the writer is impressed – which I'm assured they will be – it will be given space."

Council leader Neville Patten today branded both surveys "a load of rubbish."

He said: "It seems everyone is jumping on the Lonely Planet bandwagon."