‘Why would I leave?’: Middlesbrough pushes back against ‘hardest place to grow up’ label

Teesside town has come out worst in children’s commissioner’s report, but residents say such rankings are demoralising and counterproductive

“It’s disappointing, it’s just another kicking,” said a youth worker after the town in which they work was labelled as the hardest place in which to be a child in England.

“It suggests our children are living unhappy lives,” said a teacher, who described her pupils as joyful.