Sun over Blackpool and Scarborough, but dark days are not over

Leading lights in northern England's premier seaside resorts were in a sunny mood last week, but the towns still face deep-rooted social problems, poverty and lack of infrastructure

The sky is cloudless and the tide is high. Seagulls are scavenging, skin is blistering and the sea looks tempting. The trams go rumbling along the front and the air is thick with the authentic smell of the seaside: malt vinegar on chips.

On a day like this, Blackpool appears not to have a care in the world. The town grew up as an oasis of fun and still does what it was set up to do in Victorian times. As the ice-cream stalls coin it in, it is hard to believe that Blackpool is usually portrayed as a town without a future, the biggest victim of consumer demand for more exotic destinations.

We don't get a lot of help from outside. We have to make our own luck

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