Barbara Kelly, 46, a manager for retirement housing from Farringdon, said: "I love Sunderland, and I love my life here.

"I don't think it's right that southerners should say we should give up on it. I bet they've never been up here and seen for themselves what we have to offer.

"We have the Winter Gardens, the Glass Centre, the Aquatic Centre, the football team – and the only way is up."

Pete Thomas, 58, a community link worker from Castletown, has lived in Sunderland for the best part of his life and says it is a great place to live.

He added: "It's a vibrant city, it really is. The people are lovely – much better than down south.

"We could do with another bridge. I don't see why Newcastle should get all that money spent on it and we shouldn't."

Nora Middleton, a sales and services adviser at Barclay's bank in Sunderland, said: "There has been a lot of regeneration going on, We have got some fabulous shops and the transport links are now great with the Metro and the train to London.

Nora, 61, from Hetton, added: "It's a lot cleaner now than it used to be and we have fantastic restaurants and bar. There are things for young and old people and those in between."

Dan Hadlington, from Tunstall and Pete Ashcroft, from Seaham, both think Sunniside is the jewel in Sunderland's crown.

Dan, 20, said: "The Sunniside area has been revived. It's really a great place there now."

Recent graduate Pete, 22, added: "They're doing a lot to the city and Sunniside is one of the best areas."

Call centre worker Tim Anderson, 22, from Murton, said: "There are some good things about Sunderland and there are some bad things, like any city.

"I think the people up here are much nicer than down south. We're much easier to get along with, and I wouldn't want anyone telling me that we should move to the south."

Jasmine Bolt, 18, a care assistant at Victoria Lodge in Sunderland, said: "There are a lot of good things about Sunderland – the new swimming pool at the Aquatic Centre for example.

Jasmine, who is from Seaham, added: "It could be better, but it needs investment, not for people to give up on it."

Sister Michelle Bolt, 20, a full-time-mum, agreed. She said: "Mowbray Park is lovely, it is a great play are for kids.

"There's lots of things for people to do here, but sometimes it feels there is more to do for adults than children."

Helen McWaters, 34, a full-time-mum of Bowburn, Durham, said she and her daughters Shannon and Sophie Clarke enjoy shopping in the city.

"There are lots of shops and things to do, I would say it is definitely a nice place to live and work, and has plenty to offer."

Elizabeth McKeith, 55, a civil services manager from Thornhill, said: "Sunderland is improving but a lot more could be done. Sunniside is lovely.

"I do think they do more in Newcastle and it would be great if we could get the same investment here."

Steven Hendry, 38, unemployed, from Murton, said: "The football club brings a lot to the city, especially as we are going into our second year running in the Premiership."

Sunderland's shipyards made it the largest shipbuilding town in the world.
But while the city's coastal position made it the powerhouse of Britain's shipbuilding industry, the report says it is now a hindrance
The authors of Cities Unlimited say coastal towns and cities are most vulnerable because they tend to be isolated and "on the end of the line."
"Our largest coastal cities are generally large for a reason that has disappeared: ocean-going shipping, and ship building They have lost much of their raison d'etre, and it is hard to imagine them prospering at their current sizes.
"Sunderland demonstrates just how hard it is to regenerate such a city."