22 March 2023 , 13:11
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Furious locals in a proud city have hit back at their city being branded the "worst place in the world."
Residents of the Yorkshire city of Hull slammed the cruel title given to them by former rugby league star Willie Mason.
'Big Willie' had a very brief stint with Hull Kingston Rovers in 2011, but the Australian played just six games for the club before jetting back to his native Down Under.
The cruel jibes at Britain's 2017 city of culture were made by the former Kangaroo on a podcast.
He said: "I made the mistake when I first left North Queensland. I signed for f*****g Hull (KR), which is the worst place in the f*****g world."
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'Big Willie' called Hull the 'worst place in the f***ing world' (Getty Images/EyeEm)People who are critical of the city often said its Yorkshire residents are the best thing about it, and the current NRL coach is no different.
"I do love the f*****g Hull people," he said, "But I was like, mate, I didn't sign up for this s**t."
The city has plenty of notable and important landmarks, such as the Streetlife Museum of Transport, The Humber Bridge, Hull Minster and The Deep - an award-winning aquarium home to over 5,000 animals.
Hull has a number of notable landmarks (Getty Images/500px Plus)Pub landlady Rachael Naylor, 42, told The Sun that "Hull is a brilliant place to live - with great down-to-earth people."
Rachael said: “I bet he didn’t take any time to get to know the wonderful people who live here or explore some of the city’s history or culture.
“Hull might not have the weather that they have Down Under - but there’s not a spider or snake in sight here.”
In 2017, Hull earned the prestigious title of UK City of Culture (Getty Images)In the past, Hull has been near the top of the list of the worst places in the UK on the infamous ILiveHere survey, but the 2023 version now has it at 48th.
Resident Stephen Ramster, 38, added that Hull is like a "massive family" and Terence Shepherd, 73, said Hull is his home and he is "very proud of it."
In 2017, Hull earned the prestigious title of UK City of Culture, awarded every four years by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
A misty morning at Hull's Humber Bridge (Getty Images)The British Council said: "Hull is famously the home of poet Philip Larkin, and more recently former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, who lectured at the University of Hull where fellow poet Roger McGough studied."
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Other famous figures include abolitionist William Wilberforce, women’s rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft and aviator Amy Johnson, who became the first woman to fly from Britain to Australia.