A new study has ranked the best and worst places to be a girl in England and Wales - with Blackpool coming in second from bottom.



A study - by the charity Plan International UK - has looked at things like child poverty, educational attainment and teenage pregnancy rates.

Authors of the report stressed that girls across the UK are being "failed" and urged the Government to take "urgent action".

Waverley in Surrey is apparently the best place to be a girl in England and Wales.

It revealed a huge geographical divide for girls' prospects, with inner city areas performing worst and the South East performing the best.

TOP TEN PLACES TO BE A GIRL

1. Waverley, Surrey

2. Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire

3. Chiltern, Buckinghamshire

4. Mole Valley, Surrey

5. Epsom and Ewell, Surrey

6. Rutland, East Midlands

7. Elmbridge, Surrey

8. Wokingham, Berkshire

9. St Albans, Hertfordshire

10. East Hertfordshire



Here are the ten worst places to be a girl in England and Wales, number 1 being the worst:

1. Middlesbrough

2. Blackpool

3. Manchester

4. Nottingham

5. Liverpool

6. Knowsley, Merseyside

7. Hastings, East Sussex

8. Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire

9. Salford, Greater Manchester

10. Sandwell, West Midlands

Lucy Russell, UK girls' rights campaigner for Plan and co-author of the report, said: "Our overall conclusion is the UK is failing girls and what needs to happen is urgent action to address this.

"We heard very strongly from girls that they were facing harassment every day, that meant they were facing harassment in schools, they were getting name-calling, unwanted sexual touching, groping.

"They also told us that they don't feel safe online and that they are scared when they walk to and from school.

"We also heard that girls feel very, very concerned about their body image and about the messages they are getting from social media and magazines, translating to a very serious extent into mental health issues.

"Our conclusion is that despite being one of the most developed countries on earth, there are too many girls in the UK who aren't enjoying their rights."

The charity is calling for girls committees to be set up, mandatory sex and relationship education, and greater cross-departmental government working to address the problems.