New research has revealed that seaside towns are the divorce capitals of Britain. The top 10 places in the UK with the highest divorce rates are all beside the sea, with Blackpool topping the list.
Specialist family law firm, Lake Legal worked with data experts Callcredit to carry out the research on Britain’s top 10 divorce hotspots, and also the 10 places which have the lowest divorce rates in the country.
The popular North West seaside resort of Blackpool has the highest divorce rate in the country at 13.13%, followed by Hastings in Sussex with 12.83%, and Torbay with a divorce rate of 12.19%.
The place with the lowest divorce rate in Britain is Harrow at 5.41%, closely followed by Tower Hamlets with 5.65%, and East Dunbartonshire in Scotland with 5.94%.
The research was carried out by Dr Andy Peloe, technical consultant at Callcredit, based on data compiled from the last census.
The top 10 divorce hotspots based on local authority area:
Local Authority Divorce %
Blackpool 13.13
Hastings 12.83
Torbay 12.19
Weymouth and Portland 12.05
Thanet 11.86
Isle of Wight 11.56
Gosport 11.48
Eastbourne 11.47
Great Yarmouth 11.37
Worthing 11.23
The places with the lowest divorce rates in Britain:
Local Authority Divorce %
Harrow 5.41
Tower Hamlets 5.65
East Dunbartonshire 5.94
Newham 6.18
Redbridge 6.19
East Renfrewshire 6.19
Oxford 6.43
Wandsworth 6.46
Eilean Siar 6.50
The divorce rate in the UK as a whole was 8.2% last year according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.
The long-term increase in the number of divorces is being driven by a greater rise in divorce among those aged 50 to 64 than in younger age groups.
Commenting on the research, Lyn Ayrton, managing partner at Lake Legal, said: “Often money problems rather than infidelity lead to behaviour that is then cited as the reason for divorce. While seaside towns can be lovely places to live, they are often areas of high deprivation.
“Figures from the Office for National Statistics show places that once thrived on tourism are suffering in terms of health and disability, employment and income compared to the rest of the country.
“Another contributory factor could be divorcees moving to seaside towns to start a new life because of the affordability of housing and the prospect of a more relaxed lifestyle.
“It is difficult to explain why seaside towns have a much higher divorce rate than inland towns. What would be interesting to find out is whether the same higher divorce rate is true amongst Brits who live in coastal towns abroad”
