IT is an accolade no town wants to win.
But Kilmarnock has been given the dubious title of the worst place to live in Scotland.
The Ayrshire town, which featured in the controversial documentary reality TV series The Scheme, features in a new book as a "post-industrial wasteland" home to drug addicts and violence.
One contributor to Crap Towns Returns - a sequel to the 2003 bestseller which named Cumbernauld as the second worst place to live in the UK - said Kilmarnock was "a truly crap town...where heroin addicts and stabbings, as well as football violence and pound shops, are aplenty".
The book also described the community as "leading the charge for our latest foray into recession".
The comments in the book, published by London-based Quercus, have been met defensively by the town's MSP, Willie Coffey, who claimed they were insulting to the residents, adding that they were from the mouths of "Champagne Charlies".
He said Kilmarnock has seen a huge transformation in recent years and that shows like The Scheme exploited those who appeared on it.
He added: "Folk in Killie are getting sick and tired of these stuck-up types who want to run us down.
"We have our share of problems, but there is a real spirit of generosity in the town which would be hard to match."
Broxburn, in West Lothian, and Newton Stewart, in Dumfries and Galloway, also make the top 50 most undesirable places to live.
Book editor Sam Jordison said it was based on statistics and public nominations.
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