Bristol laughs all the way to top of funniest city poll

BRISTOL has been crowned Britain’s comedy capital after beating off tough competition from Liverpool and Birmingham, according to a survey published yesterday.

The city, home of the Little Britain character Vicky Pollard and bearded comedian Justin Lee Collins, is not famed for its sense of humour.

But researchers from Reader’s Digest found people living in Bristol were more up for a laugh than anywhere else in Britain.

Birmingham came second while Scousers were not quite as amusing as the popular stereotype suggests — as Liverpool came in third.

On the other side of the Severn Bridge, Cardiff’s reserved residents came bottom of the table after failing to raise much of a smile.

Reader’s Digest sent researchers to eight cities in eight regions, and stopped 50 passers-by in each.

They were challenged to tell a joke or funny story, sing a silly song — whatever it took to get a laugh.

In Bristol, 72% of the people approached tried to make the researchers laugh.

The frequently ridiculed West Country accent may have helped.

“People make fun of it, like Little Britain does with Vicky Pollard, but that makes us more inclined to laugh at ourselves,” said Lou Almond, an Arts and Humanities Research Council awards officer.