Жители Западного Мидлендса оказались одними из самых отчужденных в Англии

A number of West Midlands areas are considered more disconnected than average Agenda Editor The West Midlands has been named among the least friendly areas of England in a new study. ‌ The findings may come as a surprise, especially as folk of Birmingham and the Black Country are generally considered a jovial and easy-going bunch, usually ready to help out wherever they can. ‌ But seemingly this is not always the case, according to results of the study. ‌ READ MORE: Midlands city named second least friendly place in whole of England READ MORE: Parents hit out over school September rules and say 'unfair' The Government community life survey took a number of factors into account, including how often people chat to neighbours, feelings of loneliness and belonging, local pride and levels of participation in civic life. ‌ This attempted to gain insight about the openness and community spirit in different areas. Out of 296 local authority areas, four parts of the West Midlands were ranked in the bottom 40. ‌ Walsall is considered the sixth most disconnected area in the whole country, listed in 291st place. Sandwell was only two places higher in 289th. Wolverhampton was 268th on the list while Birmingham was 263rd. ‌ The findings suggest on average residents in the West Midlands trust their neighbours less, feel less part of their community and have less pride about where they live. In Birmingham, only a quarter of residents (25%) said many of their neighbours could be trusted. ‌ It suggests many don't stop for chats in the street if they can avoid it and generally prefer to keep to themselves. Only 45% said they were proud to live in their area, considerably below the 60% average. More encouragingly, 78% said they felt people from different backgrounds get on well, roughly in line with the average. Article continues below There was even worse news for Stoke-on-Trent, ranked only one place above rock bottom in the list. Only Barking and Dagenham in London is considered less friendly and connected than Stoke.