AN actress from Barrow has defended the town in light of recent media reports.

Sally Ann Staunton, who has performed in plays across the UK for more than 15 years, posted a picture of herself on Twitter in response to national media articles claiming Barrow could become a 'pariah town' because of a high coronavirus infection rate.

She said: "According to media reports I've been brought up in a poor, deprived, miserable, infected, pariah town... Nice work lads... Bet you ain't got this on your doorstep."