Scotland’s 31 most unfaithful towns and cities revealed in new ‘cheating map’

HAMILTON has been named Scotland’s most unfaithful town in a new ‘cheating map’ of the country.

The South Lanarkshire town was outed as a hotbed of infidelity as it has the highest percentage of its adult population having affairs.

It topped the table after 1,431 cheats - 3.15 per cent of the town’s population - signed up to adultery website Illicit Encounters.

And it was the only place north of the border to make the UK-wide top 10, in eighth place.

The new data has been released by an online dating service for married people. Pic: Morotion Films/Antonio Guillem/ Shutterstock

Inverness was the top Scottish city for affairs with 4,803 people cheating - just over 2 per cent of the population.

The Highland capital was followed by Aberdeen, then Glasgow and Edinburgh, with Dundee ranking as the most faithful city in Scotland with just 1.01 per cent - 5,564 adults - cheating.

Bosses at the site claimed cheating in Scotland had soared by 25 per cent since the 2014 independence referendum.

Dumfries came second in the Scottish list with 750 people - 3 per cent of its population - signing up to cheat while Irvine in North Ayrshire was third with 1726 - 2.96 per cent - of its residents having flings.

Dumbarton was fourth on the list, followed by Motherwell, Livingston, Falkirk and Rutherglen.

The dating service for married people produced the map of the UK’s most unfaithful towns from its own data. This included data for 360 towns and 52 cities in the UK.

Notably, data for some of Scotland’s other bigger towns is not published and Illicit Encounters has been asked why.

More than 1.2 million people have signed up to the dating service since it was created 15 years ago.

Jessica Leoni, of Illicit Encounters, said: “Cheating has never been more popular in Scotland and there has been a strong surge since the independence vote five years ago with a 25 per cent rise in numbers.

“A lot of Scots are trapped in unhappy marriages. They are sticking with their partners but seeking discreet excitement elsewhere.

“We have seen a strong rise in cheating in Hamilton with a 35 per cent rise in the last year. We tend to find that towns in Scotland are hotbeds for cheating.”

Scottish Town and City Rankings (as percentage of adult population)

1. Hamilton: 3.15% (1,431 adults)

2. Dumfries: 3% (750 adults)

3. Irvine: 2.96% (1,726 adults)

4. Dumbarton: 2.71% (444 adults)

5. Motherwell: 2.5% (803 adults)

6. Livingston: 2.44% (1,026 adults)

7. Falkirk: 2.43% (705 adults)

8. Rutherglen: 2.42% (622 adults)

9. Clydebank: 2.27% (535 adults)

10. Wishaw: 2.16% (658 adults)

11. Kirkintilloch: 2.06% (405 adults)

12. Inverness: 2.03 (4,803 adults)

13. Cambuslang: 2% (403 adults)

14. Glenrothes: 1.89 (608 adults)

15. Aberdeen: 1.39 (11,056 adults)

16. Paisley: 1.33% (838 adults)

17. Bearsden: 1.27% (284 adults)

18. Coatbridge: 1.25% (451 adults)

19. Alloa: 1.22 (205 adults)

20. Dunfermline: 1.22 (496 adults)

21. Airdrie: 1.21% (369 adults)

22. Glasgow: 1.19% (26,209)

23. Cumbernauld: 1.16% (496 adults)

24. Edinburgh: 1.12% (19,197)

25. Dundee: 1.01% (5,564 adults)

26. East Kilbride: 0.86% (527 adults)

27. Kirkcaldy: 0.85% (346)

28. Ayr: 0.84% (324 adults)

29. Greenock: 0.82% (296 adults)

30. Kilmarnock: 0.77% (292 adults)

31. Barry, Angus: 0.5% (224 adults)

Most Adulterous in the UK

Windsor in Berkshire was unveiled as the most adulterous place in the UK, where 1,555 of its residents joined the site - 4.29 per cent of its population.

Illicit Encounters has seen a 25 per cent rise in registrations in the last five years and each week around 20,000 people are conducting affairs on the site.

The average income of men on the site is £54,000 a year – with most working in professional jobs.

An Illicit Encounters spokesman added: “Lots of couples cannot afford to divorce due to the cost of establishing two new homes, so they are sticking with their partner and adding some spice to their marriage by discreetly having an affair.

“They know that with a site such as IllicitEncounters they can have an affair with a like-minded partner who is also looking to cheat. Both sides can have some fun without upsetting things at home.”

The website used the postal data mapped against the adult population of each town to give an overall percentage of cheating adults, along with each town’s overall number of adulterers.

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