The Midlands might be undergoing something of a minor cultural renaissance – with Sven-Goran Eriksson taking over at Notts County, three local teams in the Premier League and even the Coventry band the Specials touring again to loud acclaim. But for local people, it seems that this is not enough to command their loyalty. Given half a chance, three-quarters of the population would leave tomorrow.

Fully 81% of those working in the West Midlands would hotfoot it to the coast or countryside if their work became sufficiently flexible to permit it, while the east Midlands would similarly become a series of ghost towns, according to a study seemingly designed to raise ire in the region.

The survey asked people where they would choose to live if the government's promise of universal broadband access in the next few years allowed them to tap away at a laptop in the destination of their choice.

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The weekly number of new swine flu cases in the UK continues to fall, the chief medical officer said in his latest pandemic flu update. Sir Liam Donaldson said that in the week to August 27 there were an estimated 5,000 new infections, down from 11,000 the week before.