Shanklin on the Isle of Wight 'sunniest place in the UK' Earlier this year Eastbourne was crowned the sunniest spot, immediately sparking arrow with its near neighbours in Hastings, which claimed to have recorded 2,010 hours of sunshine in 2011 ahead of its rival's 1,962 hours. But now the people of Shanklin, on the Isle of Wight, have joined the fray, and Helen Chivers, a Met Office forecaster, has given the claim to fame credence by supporting it's ascertainment that it enjoyed 2,018.7 hours of sunshine. And they are furious about the potentially lost revenue the title of sunniest place in the UK might have cost them. John Fleming, a councillor and former tourism spokesman for Isle of Wight Council, said he was "dismayed and disgusted" by the discovery that Eastbourne stole Shanklin's crown. He said: "It is unbelievable when you consider the potential loss of hundreds of thousands of pounds in lost revenue for Shanklin. The Island could have lost millions because of this. It is a real shame, especially during these tough economic times. Chris Quirk, vice-president of the Shanklin Hoteliers Association and hotels representative of the Isle of Wight Chamber of Commerce's tourism advisory board, said: "It's a terrible shame that misleading information about the weather is used in the press. The town could have made a lot more out of being the UK's sunniest place as a selling point. He said had the correct information been published it could have been very useful to the whole of Isle of Wight tourism and its economy. Five years ago, the Met Office scrapped its resort list and relies on towns and cities submitting results themselves.