Stevenage is the most adulterous town in Hertfordshire – that’s according to an index released today that claims to chart infidelity across the UK.

At least 1.43 per cent of the town’s adult population is cheating, the figures attest, with 1,278 people having an affair – up from 1,211 a year ago.

The revelations come from the Infidelity Index compiled by IllicitEncounters.com – which provides dating services for married people, and mapped the locations of its 1.1 million UK members against the adult population of each town, city and London borough.

The website’s Christian Grant attributes this apparent infidelity to couples being unable to afford a divorce.

He said: “Hertfordshire is no stranger to adultery, it seems. In fact, Stevenage is one of the most adulterous towns going.

“Why? We’ve found that, in recent years especially, the increase in house prices and general cost of living, coupled with a turbulent economy, has meant that a lot of people no longer have the financial means to afford a divorce.

“So what you have is unhappy couples who, in a perfect world, would like to split amicably, but lack the fiscal means of doing so. Their only viable alternative? An affair.”

The figure ranks Stevenage as the 17th most adulterous town in the UK.

According to the the data, the most faithful town in our area is Baldock, where 225 people are claimed to be having an affair – with a drop from 230 last year perhaps indicating that some are recanting their adulterous ways.

There was a massive drop in Sandy, where the index claims 939 people were cheating last year against only 342 now.

Elsewhere the statistics claim there are 540 adulterers in Royston, 520 in Letchworth, 437 in Hitchin and 399 in Biggleswade.

All those towns are attributed a small increase from last year, apart from Royston, which has a slight dip from 558.

Stevenage’s claimed 1.43 per cent adultery rate pales into insignificance next to the national high of 7.46 per cent in Gloucester – with the figures for cities such as St Albans, which is listed at 3.25 per cent, generally higher than those for towns.

You can have a look at the figures for yourself at infidelityindex.co.uk.