[MAIL] While for some it still brings back fond childhood memories of a fun-filled seaside holiday, Blackpool is long past its heyday.It is now one of the most deprived towns in the UK.
Plagued by drugs, poverty and crime, the seaside resort has been in decline for decades.
It has the highest proportion of alcohol-related deaths in England and was recently named the local authority area where men have the lowest life expectancy.
And while it may come as a shock to those who visited the resort religiously during its booming post-war years, to anyone who takes a stroll down the promenade today, the deprivation is clear as day.
Buildings that once housed shops and cafes lay empty, and the 'forgotten' streets behind the promenade are left in ruins.
But one of the biggest indicators of the 'unloved' town are the plethora of previously bustling hotels that have since shut down and been left crumbling for years.
When MailOnline visited Blackpool, not only were hotels left abandoned and boarded up, but the buildings were seen rotting and disintegrating, becoming a zone for fly-tipping and in some cases, had been targets by gangs for cannabis farms.
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