Southampton the scruffiest city in Britain

That is the message to workers in Southampton who have today been named the scruffiest in the UK.

A survey carried out among the city’s workers showed that almost 70 per cent admitted dressing less smartly than they did a year ago.

That made the city top in the national scruffy league table behind Britain’s smartest city – Wolverhampton.

Wearing trainers was named as the biggest no-no in the office in the survey carried out among 300 workers.

That was followed by an un-ironed shirt, wearing flip-flops and having too much cleavage on show.

The figures reveal a serious side to sloppy dress with nearly half of all managers admitting to overlooking someone for a promotion because of their attire.

One in five bosses went one step further and actually fired an employee because of the way they were dressed.

But yesterday Southampton’s workforce hit back at the slur on their office dress sense.

Michael Brown, a 28-year-old usability consultant from Northam Avenue, said: “I think it’s important to show you take your work seriously and show the people around you that you are professional.

“I go to a lot of meetings with people who are higher up than myself and dressing smartly makes me feel more comfortable.”

But Charlotte Davies, a 25-year-old meat factory worker from Lordshill, said: “I think everyone should dress their own way when they go to work whether the place has a dress code or not.”

The study was carried out on behalf of entrepreneur and star of TV show Dragons Den Peter Jones, who is launching a new office clothing line.

He said: “I know from all my years in business that if people look smarter, they feel the part and achieve more – both in terms of productivity and career progression.”