Adultery is said to be on the rise in Southend, with experts blaming coronavirus for the increase.

A ‘cheating map’ available on illicitencounters.com shows an estimated 1,522 people in the soon to be city are having an affair.

That’s up four per cent on the same period last year when 1,463 people were said to be seeing other people than their partners.

Illicit Encounters claims the rise is due to the ending of lockdown restrictions and people wanting change after spending months inside with their partners.

Spokesperson Jessica Leoni said: “We have seen a big rise in cheating over the last year in Southend and throughout most of Essex, particularly since the start of autumn with almost all adults double jabbed.

“Record numbers of people came back from their summer holidays miserable and looking for excitement after 18 months of being bored and stuck at home with their partners.

“We have enjoyed the busiest year in our history with women in particular looking to start afresh and joining in unprecedented numbers.

“The cheating surge will continue as more of us return to the office in the run-up to Christmas. Adulterers often use work as a way to cover up their affair.”

The figures are said to be based on IllicitEncounters’ own extensive data on the numbers of Britons cheating.

The interactive Infidelity Index allows users to search a city, town or postcode to discover how many people are having affairs in any locality.