MALDON has made it on to a list of the UK's top ten most entrepreneurial towns.

Insurance firm Superscript put Maldon ninth in this year's rankings.

Figures show the number of small businesses with fewer than 50 employees in the town increased by 85 - a 2.5 per cent increase.

Mansfield topped the rankings, followed by Blackburn, Luton, Darlington, Ipswich, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Maidstone, Bridgend, Maldon and Scarborough.

Superscript boss Cameron Shearer said: "Maldon didn’t feature in the top 10 in 2021, so the way it has embraced entrepreneurship in the last year is even more impressive against the backdrop of a national decline in small businesses.

“It’s a tough time for entrepreneurs right now, but history teaches us that challenging times are when great ideas and innovations are born, with businesses evolving quickly."