SO FOUR out of five young people in Burnley can't wait to escape their home town.

A new report told us 80 per cent of youngsters planned to jump ship the minute they're old enough.

The damning findings of the survey by Burnley Council and Elevate came as a bit of a shock I know Burnley's hardly the epitome of paradise but it's not that bad, is it?

When you delved a bit further all became clear. These weren't any old kids being interviewed they were teenagers.

Without wishing to be patronising, everyone knows teenagers are notoriously hard to please. Most could make Simon Cowell look easy-going.

Who can honestly say they don't cringe at teenage memories of screaming: "I hate you, I'm leaving home" to their downtrodden mother who hadn't washed their favourite top on time or had asked them to get off the phone?

And I wonder how many of the claims were bravado? Nowadays it's cool to be a rapper or even a Big Brother contestant not take on an apprenticeship as a painter and decorator in your home town.

Fewer than 20 per cent of the youngsters the researchers asked said life was "great".

I'd say 20 per cent is pretty good going how many adults would say their life is great?

Besides, of course your life isn't perfect when you're aged 11 to 16 but that's got nothing to do with geography.

It's more to do with having a face full of spots, raging hormones, crippling shyness and a fear instilled in you by teachers that if you don't pass the latest exam or choose the right options you'll end up with a dead-end job.

I reckon we should encourage our youngsters to get out and explore the world go to university, travel the globe and I bet a lot more of them will come back to settle in Burnley than have planned.

Anyone who's moved to Burnley as an adult will tell you that while the town might not be the most exciting it might not have a Starbucks on every corner or a boulevard crammed with modern art it's got something much rarer.

What Burnley has is a population of down-to-earth honest folk who aren't obsessed with owning the latest status symbol and still have a semblance of community spirit, which is more than most places.

It's got people who take pride in being friendly to strangers and watch out for their neighbours, and it's a place where you can live a decent life without being ripped off in every shop and pub you go in.

I bet if they thought about it long and hard most youngsters would come to the conclusion their home isn't really that bad at all.