BOURNEMOUTH is one of the least car-friendly towns in the UK, according to a new survey.

The research, carried out by Virgin Money Car Insurance, took into account factors including petrol prices, parking costs and the number of speed cameras in each area.

While St Helens on Merseyside came out as the most car-friendly, Bournemouth was one of the least, coming in 59th place out of 65 towns, with London, predictably, bottom of the pile.

But Mike Holmes, service director for planning and transport at Bournemouth council, disagreed with the findings.

He said: “As an authority we encourage greener travel for our residents and visitors and have excellent public transport links and cycle routes.

“For those who visit the town by car, we have worked hard over the last year in consultation and support from the Chamber of Trade and Commerce to ensure that our parking charges are competitively priced and with two of our town centre car parks offering parking for just £1 for two hours.”

The survey also took into account the number of car parks and levels of car crime and the news was better for Poole, which was named as 13th most car-friendly overall.

The town also appeared as one of the best for cheap parking and for number of car parks per 1,000 people, although both Poole and Bournemouth were among the most expensive for fuel.

Steve Tite, principal manager for transportation at Borough of Poole, said: “Even though much of what we do is around supporting sustainable travel such as cycling, walking and public transport, we still work hard to meet the needs of and provide for the motorist by means of offering a good range of safe, well placed car parks with competitive charges in order to support the overall economic vitality of the town.”