IT looks like Blackburn will avoid being named the grimmest town in the North West after falling behind in an online poll.
Entrepreneurial magazine En slammed the town last month, naming it among the top ten grimmest in the region.
It set up an internet poll for readers to vote , with the top four to be given a rebrand by a top design agency.
But so far Blackburn is trailing way behind the top four - Wigan, Skelmersdale, Rhyl and Wilmslow.
The result is due to be published in the next issue of En in around two weeks time.
October's article created a furore by claiming Blackburn was "stuck in the 1970s" and that major retailers had deserted the town "to leave a trail of sex shops, charity outlets and kebab houses".
It received condemnation from council officials and business leaders.
En has around 12,000 readers in the North West.
Graham Burgess, executive director of regeneration at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "This shows that the article was unscientific, poorly researched and incorrect."
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