A FILM director has caused a stir after labelling Southend “a sort of low-rent English Las Vegas – a Vegas of the Third World”.

David Hughes, 37, the writer and director of a new British gangster film set in Southend, said he chose the town as the location for Hard Boiled Sweets before he cast any of the actors.

He believed Southend was the perfect setting for his feature film, but his harsh opinions have raised a few eyebrows.

He said: “Instead of high-end hotels and swanky casinos, it has grotty bed and breakfasts and low-end slot machines and arcades. Into this setting, I’ve placed a series of really hard-boiled characters.”

Dawn Jeakings, who manages the Royals Shopping Centre and is chairman of the Southend Town Centre Partnership, believes the comment is about Mr Hughes selling the film, not reality.

She said: “It is a gritty film and he is saying this for effect. Everyone knows what is in Southend and I am really passionate about the place.

“Town and cities all over the country will have their problems, but crime is down in Southend. We have great hotels, we have the airport and we have a lot of investment. We also have the pier and there is a great community feel.”

The comment came a week after former Southend Council leader Anna Waite said cash-strapped people living near the town centre were putting big brands off investing in the town.

She posted a blog post about the future of the High Street and said: “Single mums on bedsits, drug and alcohol addicts, the homeless and those on multiple benefits do not have the cash to spend in shops.”

Londoner Mr Hughes, spoke to the Echo ahead of his film’s London premiere tonight and said he first experienced Southend when he was 19, on a night out with friends.

Council leader Nigel Holdcroft said: “It is not the right image and probably never was.

“Southend is very different than it was many years ago. If he had been back during filming he would have seen that.