Is Christchurch the most Eurosceptic town in the UK?

Almost 80 per cent of voters in the borough backed either Conservative MP Chris Chope, a staunch advocate for the leave campaign, or his UKIP rival Robin Grey at last year’s general election.

And last week Mr Grey told the Daily Echo that while out distributing leaflets he had not come across a single person wanting the country to stay in the European Union.

So the Echo took to the town centre's Saxon Square shopping centre to ask residents for their views.

Tony Sanders, who runs his own business teaching people about mountain navigation, said he is “very much for staying in”.

“I have access to Europe and I think Europe should have access to us too,” the 50-year-old said, who lives in Christchurch and runs his business in the New Forest.

“People see the English Channel as this wall – they have this island mentality that we are so much better off on our own. I don’t agree with that.

“I think once we can remove ourselves from the scaremongering, we will see the benefit of keeping hold of those links, particularly in trade and industry."

However, Diana West, a retired languages teacher who worked in France and Germany during her career, said: “I have travelled all over Europe and I am multilingual – but I’m still Eurosceptic.

“I have lived in Europe, so I know what they are like. They are not democratic."

Her views were shared by college lecturer Des Jones, 52, who said: “What has the EU done for us? They have taken away money, jobs, houses and I’m worried about immigration – it has had a massive impact on this country.

“In the budget the government took money away from the disabled and people who really need it – and then look at how much money we are spending on being in the EU every day."

But 68-year-old Derek Williams, a retired mechanical engineer, said: “We rely heavily on the trade provided by the European Union, and it would be foolhardy to do anything that might jeopardise that."

Tim Rawles, 24, who works in retail as an assistant shop manager, said he is undecided – but agreed that Christchurch is a largely Eurosceptic place.

"I think Christchurch is split between the generations, and UKIP have done very well here of late," he said.

Anthony Webster, 76, a retired insurance broker, said: “Of course Christchurch is Eurosceptic – it is because a lot of us are older and have witnessed over a long period how the EU has emasculated our country."