used to cater for the summer day-trippers has gone. The locals are happy enough to talk but don't want to give their names, "in case we get our windows put in". Stock, the Conservative leader of the council, which is run from the town hall in neighbouring Clacton-on-Sea, looks somewhat out of place. "It is depressing being number one, because we do take this issue very seriously. It's a problem beyond the scope of a district council. We need national and European intervention." So how did Jaywick -- or more specifically the Brooklands estate -- get here, having overtaken Breckfield in Anfield, Liverpool? Despite its problems, Jaywick still possesses character. It's the largest surviving example of the "plotlands" movement of the 1920s and 1930s, when land was sold off in little strips, usually to city dwellers longing for a piece of paradise. Jaywick Sands was built in 1928 as a resort by Fabian property developer Frank Stedman. He marketed them as "chalets" but people lived in their two-bedroom bungalows all year round. One local recalled his father had bought the house off-plan at an exhibition in London. After the second world war most plotlands were bulldozed but the Jaywick residents hung on, even going to court in 1970 and succeeded in preserving it. There is a proud tradition of self-reliance. But the area is relatively isolated and the properties have deteriorated. A total of 62% of working age residents receive benefits, compared with the national average of 15%. It is