Cumbernauld is Scotland's '˜cheating capital', survey claims

IT may be one of the country's newest towns - created in the 1950s - but a new poll suggests many residents are old hat at committing adultery.

'Adultery rife' in Cumbernauld, poll claims

The survey, compiled by IllicitEncounters.com – a dating website for married people – has placed Cumbernauld as the only Scottish town in the top 20 of cheating locations in the UK.

It claims to have 841 members committing adultery, a total of 1.91% of the population.

Hamilton is the second highest town north of the border, coming in at number 24. The poll claims 671 people are cheating, representing 1.26% of the population.

Also placed in the top 100 are East Kilbride at 66 (543 people, 0.73% of population) and Paisley at 87 (464 people, 0.6%)

The results are based on the website’s own extensive data on the numbers of Britons cheating.

Since its inception 13 years ago, more than one million people have registered with the site.

IllicitEncounters.com has seen a 20% surge in registrations in the last five years, claiming many couples simply cannot afford to divorce due economic pressures and ever-rising house prices.

llicitEncounters.com spokesman Christian Grant said increasing numbers of couples were finding themselves trapped in unhappy marriages but they were reluctant to divorce and so are using the website to inject to some excitement into their lives.

High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire is Britain’s cheating capital with 2,119 men and women having affairs – equating to 2.12% of the population.

Brentwood in Essex is the most faithful town – shattering the myth that Essex girls (and boys) are promiscuous.

Christian Grant said: “We are increasingly popular in commuter towns like High Wycombe, Guildford, Maidenhead and Ashford. They are doing a lot more than just twitching curtains in Acacia Avenue.

“Spiralling house prices have made divorce increasingly difficult for many couples. They are struggling along unhappily because they simply cannot afford to set up two homes.

“IllicitEncounters.com provides an outlet for men and women who would have an affair whether we were there or not. In coming to us, they can be assured of meeting a like-minded partner seeking some added excitement in their life who doesn’t want to upset things at home.”

Every week, around 20,000 people in the UK are having affairs on IllicitEncounters.com.

The average income of the men on the site is £54,000 a year, with most working in professional jobs.

Wrexham, a lowly 55 in the UK table, was Wales’ most adulterous town.

Cumbernauld is one of Scotland’s best-known New Towns and was created in the 1950s as a population overspill for Glasgow.

Cumbernauld’s town centre was regenerated in the 1990s. The town boasts a number of attractive green spaces.

Cumbernauld has many links to nearby motorways including the M8, M74 and M9.

Regular bus services run to Glasgow, Stirling, Falkirk, Dunfermline and St Andrews while local services run to the surrounding towns and villages.

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