FEELING tired, irritable and worried your blood vessels are about to burst?

It could be because you live in Southend- which has been named one of the most stressful places to live in the UK.

Despite being by the sea and just a short train ride away from London, residents in the town are more stressed than those in the capital, according to credit comparison website TotallyMoney.com

The survey found the job market, commuting to work and finances were the main reasons for the high stress levels.

Southend Council leader Ron Woodley said: “I can imagine that people are stressed.

“When we took over we were in a position with massive funding cuts and services needed to be cut back.

“Job prospects were not there in terms of there being a lot of jobs on the market.

“Since then, we have got some projects with jobs growth coming forward, including the airport business park.”

The survey found job growth in Southend stands at 0.01 per cent, while 6.3 per cent of the population is currently unemployed.

Those in work do not escape from the daily grind early enough, with workers stuck doing overtime for an average of eight hours and six minutes every week.

People spent an average of 53 minutes commuting each day, nearly 80 per cent of them using public transport or their cars.

Workers had an average of £234.78 left over by pay day, while 39 per cent used credit cards or overdrafts to get by.

Mr Woodley added: “The people that commute into London have the higher pay.

“I think what we have got in Southend is that the people who do earn lots of money do come back here and spend it.

“But we have got to improve the situation for more local people.

“With that, it’s education which is key and 82 per cent of our schools are good or outstanding.”

Despite all the pressures of modern life, more than 73 per cent of residents were satisfied with how things were going for them, even if their blood pressure is through the roof.

Mr Woodley said: “We have got to make sure that our environment here is sound enough that when people walk out their front door they see a decent street scene.

“We have got the parks, the sea fronts and the beaches and we have got to make sure we maintain them.”

People in Derby, the most relaxed town or city out of 66 listed by the survey, worked an average of 5.96 hours of overtime a week and had a 45 minute commute.

London was named the sixth most stressful place to live.