Maldon residents have little musical talent, according to research by university academics.

Musical ability is linked to a person’s profession, education and average income, say researchers from Goldsmiths, University of London.

They studied data from more than 94,700 people across Britain for the largest study ever conducted into music psychology.

Maldon languished in eighth place out of the bottom ten least musical areas of the country.

But Hastings in Sussex topped the list for the most musically talented.

The data was gathered by BBC Lab UK and showed for every point an individual scored on the ‘beat perception test,’ the average weekly income in their postcode area was £99 higher.

For every point on ‘melody memory,’ the average increase was £111.

People who are learning to play an instrument are more likely to be wealthier.