Blackpool: Las Vegas of the North

January 2009: Not many places in Britain are the world's economic woes more evident than in the north west seaside town of Blackpool. They used to call this place "the Las Vegas of the North" but that was back when it was the country's most popular holiday destination for working class families. These days, most people take cheap flights to Europe instead. Time has not been kind to Blackpool and during the winter months there's no tourists, which means that unemployment goes up by 20%. But even when it's dead, there's an undeniable magic to the place.

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