THE PEOPLE of Tintern have slammed a pocket guide which ranks the village as one of the worst places to live in the UK.

The guide, which hit the shelves this week, is entitled Crap Towns. The 50 Worst Places to Live in the UK.

Councillor Dawn Floyd, who defended Tintern in a Radio Wales broadcast on the guide, said: "It's absolutely ridiculous that Tintern has made this list. Are they having a laugh? I sincerely wonder whether the author has ever been here.

"I own a B&B in the town. People from all over the UK are forever telling me how lucky we are to live here. Tintern is a magnificent place with breathtaking scenery.

"Last weekend you couldn't get a bed anywhere in Tintern. The place was chock-a-block with tourists.

"People here take real pride in making the village look good. These criticisms are unfounded and I'm very concerned about the impact this publication could have on tourism."

Tintern is listed by the guide as 29th worst place to live in Britain out of 50 towns. The entry for Tintern reads: "Tintern Abbey. It must be said that Wordsworth's famous lines were composed a few miles above it. He couldn't stand the godforsaken town either."

The worst 50 towns were chosen by readers of the Idler magazine who have been voting online for the past few months.

Sharon Chilcott, Information Officer for the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty said: "I can't begin to imagine what this view can have been based on. Tintern is beautiful, and it is set in the midst of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

It has grown up around Tintern Abbey, now a wonderful, picturesque ruin, and it is a much-loved and much-visited historic village.

"It is in a lovely, tranquil setting surrounded by wonderful walks and breathtaking views. "It was also the inspiration for the Picturesque movement and in the eighteenth and nineteenth century it used to be an essential part of the Wye Tour."

Vickie Stubbs, who owns the Parva Farmhouse Hotel, couldn't believe the town had made it to the list. She said: "If Tintern is so awful why does it have such a large tourist population?"

Last year Tintern attracted almost 70,000 visitors, a ten percent increase on the previous year.