Southend has vowed to press ahead with its bid for city status after Colchester, Britain's oldest recorded town, dropped out of the running.

A formal application is being drawn up by campaigning council officials who want to win the title to mark the turn of the century.

Southend was turned down in its last attempt to gain city status in centenary year 1992 when it lost out to Sunderland.

Council leader, Graham Longley said: "Being a city would really give Southend the status it deserves.

"Southend is the largest conurbation outside London and bearing in mind that the county does not have a city, we believe we have the right credentials for the job.

"This also comes hard on the heels of the MORI poll which suggested more than 85 per cent of residents are happy living in the town."

Mr Longley claimed Southend had become a regional centre for education, the arts and leisure.

He said South East Essex College's plans to develop university education in the town was a great boost to the city status bid.

However, the borough will face tough competition from county town Chelmsford, which also plans to bid for the status.

All applications have to be in before the end of September.

A Home Office spokesman stressed each application would be considered on its individual merits.

It was widely thought that towns must have a cathedral to be selected, but that is not the case.

She added: "The award of city status is not determined by the application of standard criteria. This means a favourable recommendation can be made to Her Majesty only in the most exceptional cases."

Colchester decided to drop its bid following a major public consultation.

A survey delivered to 70,000 homes in the borough prompted just 79 replies and 51 were against Colchester becoming a city.

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