‘Go take a drive Clarkson ....off a Pier!’

Outspoken columnist and sacked Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has called for the town to be handed over to the fracking industry – because, he says, the town is full of: “drunks, drug addicts and Syrian refugees”.

Those comments came just days after a BBC report into slum landlords, and a poll stating Blackpool was the ‘sixth worst’ place to live in in the UK.

In his weekly column for the Sunday Times, Clarkson said the town’s “disgusting” bedsits and guest houses had been turned into a: “cesspit of awfulness and disease”.

He said those in houses of multiple occupation (HMO) were: “not... what you’d call house-proud”.

The 55-year-old multi-millionaire – released by the BBC from Top Gear earlier this year after hitting a producer who didn’t provide him with a hot meal – described most of the people in HMOs as: “enthusiastic users of heroin or Stella Artois,” who often end up in a “puddle” of their own excrement.

His solution was to hand the resort over to fracking companies, to make the area: “as rich as Saudi Arabia”.

Blackpool’s first citizen, Mayor Coun Peter Callow, said: “The chap’s going mad.

“He’s already had the sack for thumping someone and he’s lucky to have any sort of job.

“He should get in one of his cars and go for a long drive off one of our short piers.

“He once came to Blackpool to switch on the Illuminations – he landed and went off straight away and didn’t spend any time here.

“He’s just trying to create a bit of a fire at our expense.

“It’s cheap, basically, and that’s what he does.”

Blackpool Council leader Coun Simon Blackburn said of the refugee comment: “We are creating a plan that will enable us to take a small number of refugees.

“Those plans will be tailored to what is best for those individuals and the families – something which we will find out in due course.”

Clarkson’s comments split Gazette readers.

First, the pro-Clarkson comments:

He’s not wrong

Murray Don

100% true – never seen anyone with a can of special brew at eight in the morning and shooting up -– only in Blackpool

Elliott BK Lowe

I’m sick of the same characters asking for 20p. Blackpool is minging and riddled with delinquents!!

Chris Preston

Clarkson is right, I lived in Blackpool for over 30 years, since then I have lived in County Durham, Stevenage, Chesterfield, Clitheroe, Manchester and Warrington. None of these places come anywhere near as close to Blackpool in these stakes.

Ali Donald

100% spot on! Blackpool is full of alchies and druggies. OPEN YOUR EYES!

Ian Bass

Clarkson for PM, he’s the only one with enough of a spine to say it how it is.

Neil Bentley

Bang on jez. So right. I live here and was born here but not many people can say that. Most of the people in Blackpool are from other places or countries. Drug users and alcoholics are rife in this town.

Linda Ormond

But there are those who believe the former Top Gear presenter is wide of the mark:

Blackpool’s got its problems but it’s not all like he says there’s decent hard working people in our town. May I suggest Mr Clarkson don’t come to Blackpool you’re not welcome here

Carol Fowler

Clearly hasn’t spent enough time in Blackpool. As for people in bedsits, I’m in one and don’t do drugs or drink! Think he needs to get his facts right before opening his trap!

Sabrina Jay

Every town has addicts, not just Blackpool

Vicky Spencer

Blackpool is no different than any other town in the UK. All large towns have their problems. The most disgusting thing is that this revolting human being is given airtime!

Andrew Hudson

I once thought he was a clever man but he’s just shown me to be someone that likes to generalise; to say that everyone in a Blackpool bedsit is an alcoholic or a heroin addict is just ignorant. Yes there are many that are but there are also a great many that aren’t.

Catheribne Shaw

All you people that are knocking Blackpool and actually live there, if you hate it that much, MOVE AWAY. It’s got its problems as do most towns and cities in the UK but I know where I would rather be, by the coast every time ,love Blackpool, it’s slowly improving and you really can’t beat it.

Mel Evans

Jeremy Clarkson is an enthusiastic user of bigotry and dull cliche to pad out his threadbare joke cabinet

Alan Moore

Clarkson, try living in Blackpool on minimum wage and trying to lead a decent life as a working class person! Maybe you might shut your gob for once! What an utter fool! And believe me there is worse places than Blackpool in the UK

Curtis Holmes

Err what about London Manchester and other places?

Nigel Bracken

Gazette readers reacted differently to the uSwitch poll – and were quick to come to the resort’s defence.

Here’s a few of your comments responding to the suggestion Blackpool is the sixth-worst town to live in in the UK.

The Gazette reported on Saturday the study ranked Blackpool just after Bradford, Hull and parts of Northern Ireland,based on working hours, life expectancy, hours of sunshine, food and energy bills and disposable income. The responses were almost all in defence of the resort:

Will take Blackpool over London any day, any time.

Luke Eze

I was born in Blackpool and lived all over the country now in Hull and I don’t think a day passes when I don’t miss Blackpool, fantastic place.

Mark Gleave

Just got back from Blackpool had fab time

Rhiannon Harper

Plenty of problems in/around Blackpool but nothing that isn’t representative of the UK in general. Managed to live in and enjoy Blackpool for nearly 42 years,

Dave Pope

I live in Hull but was born on Grange Park, I’ve lived all over the country and no way is Blackpool the worst, unfortunately every where has run down areas but on the whole Blackpool is fine and I love coming back.

Mark Gleave

We have just moved out of Blackpool after 16 months! Loved every minute of it!

Becky Muir

I love Blackpool I would never move back to Scotland . Blackpool is my home now its a good place.

Isabell Currie

I’m from down south Kent and London way! Blackpool is the best place I’ve lived

Rebecca Nicholls

Blackpool is not at all bad, in fact it seems to be on the up from what I remember from the 1980/90s when I was only a visitor to the town.

Steven Mcquade

Load of nonsense like all these ridiculous lists. I take it with a pinch of salt. Blackpool is a great place to live.

Christian Cox

I’ve lived here since 1962,best place on earth.

David Burton

It depends what you measure. The sunsets, the sea, the sands, the great attractions, or the druggies, benefit chasers, thieves, who mostly came from other towns. Nic Hall

Clarkson’s gaffes

November 2008

Referring to convicted killer Steve Wright, jokes about lorry drivers murdering prostitutes

February 2009

Calls then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown a ‘one-eyed Scottish idiot’ while in Australia

October 2009

Said the BBC was obsessed with hiring ‘black muslim lesbians’

August 2010

Used the words ‘special needs’ to refer to a Ferrari he was giving a bad review to

February 2011

Forced to apologise to Mexican ambassador over comments made about country

May 2014

Forced to apologise after out-takes show him mumbling the ‘N’ word in a nursery rhyme

July 2014

Used the term ‘slope’ to refer to an Asian man

October 2014

Drove through Argentina with a numberplate referring to the Falklands conflict

Read the rest of the website comments here:

Clarkson: People in Blackpool’s bedsits are ‘enthusiastic users of heroin or Stella Artois’