A Brentwood businessman organising one of the UK's biggest New Year's Eve parties has branded the town "the most boring in the country," and says local people seem uninterested in having a good time on the night.

Richard Hoyle is a partner in Dawn Media, a company organising a huge Millennium bash in Navestock Side.

But, he says, most of the enquiries about the big night have come from nearby towns like Chelmsford, Ongar and Romford, and as far afield as Scarborough.

"We've even had an enquiry from the biggest club in Beijing about setting up an internet video link on the night," he said. "But people in Brentwood just don't seem to have cottoned on to it.

"It seems to be the party that everyone else wants, but not the party that Brentwood people want.

"It's very, very strange. People are being offered something they don't usually get.

"It is going to be a monumental occasion, and the proceeds are going to charity so they can see they are not being ripped off. Maybe people in Brentwood are just fed up with all the hype."

For more information on the party, A Countryside Affair, call 01277 374600 or visit the website at www.dawnmedia.co.uk

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