Lancashire in pole position for strip club league

The county lags behind only Berkshire and Bedfordshire for the number of strip bars per head of the population.

A comprehensive study of all 576 listed strip clubs in England found that Berkshire, with 17 strip clubs and a population of approximately 154,000 people, has way more per capita than any other county in England.

In contrast, London sits way down the list in 18th place with its 104 strip clubs and population of 7,813,600, giving the capital a score of 1.331 strip clubs per 100,000 inhabitants.

Like Berkshire, Bedfordshire sits on the outskirts of London. The county has 11 strip clubs and a population of 255,200 (4.31 per 100,000), whilst Lancashire has 30 strip clubs for its population of 1,169,300 people (2.565 per 100,000).

One theory why Lancashire scores so highly is the seaside resort of Blackpool – a popular haunt for stag parties. Barry Hastewell, boss of Preston lapdancing venue Perfect 10s, was bemused as to why Lancashire featured so highly.

“To be honest, the industry is struggling a bit,” he said. “The whole leisure industry is stuggling.

“We only open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and we do well at weekends.

“I think maybe Blackpool and the number of clubs they have there is why Lancashire is so high up the league table.”

Meanwhile the same research found that Berkshire also has the most nightclubs per person in England (29 in total, 18.831 per 100,000 capita). Again counties on the outskirts of London and Manchester feature highly on that list, with Cheshire, East Sussex, Lancashire and Bedfordshire all in the top five.

Rasmus Christiansen of the stag party organising company behind the research said: “With big cities nearby but with lower rents and more space, towns in places like Berkshire, Bedfordshire and Lancashire are attractive to club owners and easy to get to for people going out partying.

“Maybe people visiting strip clubs just like to head out of the city and visit 
nearby towns for a night of titillation.”