ALLOA is officially the ‘most depressing and soul-destroying’ town in Scotland, according to a poll.

As reported by the Advertiser in January, people were asked to nominate “soul-destroying” places in the UK in the hunt for the most “depressing” place to live.

Unfortunately, Alloa emerged as a front runner for the top of the list, joining around 10 Scottish places in the poll, run by reviews site iLiveHere.com.

The poll has now closed, with Alloa locked in as the most soul-destroying town in Scotland and fourth across the UK overall.

The description on the poll read: “Culturally devoid and one of the most deprived places in Scotland, Alloa is Scotland’s first entry on our depression succession.”

The only other Scottish entry in the top 20 was the city of Aberdeen, who finished third overall and was voted the most soul-destroying place in Scotland.

In their description of Aberdeen, the review site was particularly harsh on Scotland’s Granite City, advising people to avoid Aberdeen unless they were “colour blind” or were fans of “grey stone”.

The overall winner, or loser, of the poll was Falmouth in Cornwall, which pipped Peterborough, Cambridgeshire by 27 votes, to be crowned the most soul-destroying place in the UK.

A statement by iLiveHere said: “We wanted to highlight those towns that sap the residents’ will to live.

“Bland, boring, soulless, uncultured middle-England municipalities of mediocrity, that imbue the inhabitants with an almost terminal case of ennui and you delivered.

“This year, we are ditching the usual suspects to focus on those towns throughout this septic isle that give you an almost terminal case of ennui.

“The towns where you just exist rather than live.”

The result of the poll was met with some backlash, particularly from John Nicolson, MP for Ochil and South Perthshire, who wrote a column defending the town.

Throughout his column, Mr Nicolson spoke out in favour of Alloa, bashing the "mean-spirited" poll.

"I love Alloa," he said. "With its cute wynds, grand merchant houses, and majestic civic architecture, it is a sometimes overlooked wee gem.

"Like any fine gem, Alloa could benefit from a polish too at the hands of the descendants of the skilled craftsmen who built and enhanced it.

"Aside from the fact this poll is mean-spirited, it is also nonsensical as anyone who lives in or visits the town can attest."