HUNDREDS of people have been having affairs on their partners across the Halstead area, a new cheating map reveals.

A new cheating map reveals 391 people in Halstead are having an affair - up from 361 last year, all despite the Covid crisis.

The figures are from Illicitencounters.com, the UK’s leading affairs dating website.

It also shows in Braintree 734 people are having an affair, up from 662 the year before.

In Witham it was 437, up from 405 the year before.

Elsewhere in Essex there were 1,421 people having an affair in Colchester, 596 in Maldon, 581 in Clacton and 377 in Harwich.

The main reason for the rise is ‘lockdown cabin fever’ with people unhappy with their partner seeking an affair after becoming fed-up being stuck at home.

IllicitEncounters.com spokeswoman Jessica Leoni said: “We have seen a big rise in cheating over the last year in Wrexham, even in the last six months covered by Covid.

“This is due to lockdown cabin fever - increasing numbers of people have become fed-up with their partners after being stuck together at home for most of this year and even denied a summer holiday in many cases.

“The Covid fear factor largely went at the start of the summer when the pubs reopened and people realised that the virus was only a big health threat if you are elderly or in a high risk group.

“People started dating again and cheating numbers surged as lots of new relationships were forged.”

Adultery, it seems, is booming in Southend with a 10 per cent increase in the last year - making it the cheating capital of Essex.

A new cheating map reveals 1,463 people in the seaside town are having an affair - up from 1,333 last year, all despite the Covid crisis.

Across Essex, the figures show:

  • Basildon (up to 766 cheats from 672 last year)
  • Harlow (up to 745 cheats from 689 last year)
  • Braintree (up to 734 cheats from 662 last year)
  • Grays (up to 610 from 552 last year)
  • Billericay (down to 499 cheats from 554 last year)
  • Romford (up to 296 cheats from 264 last year)

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