A NEW survey shows that hundreds of leading executives believe the "working class" Essex twang is the worst accent you can have if you want to secure a well-paid job.

Of 300 business leaders polled, 210 said they would have serious doubts about hiring somebody who spoke with one.

Shows like The Only Way is Essex have thrust our regional dialect into the limelight, while celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's outpourings of "pukka" food descriptions have also helped make our accent as famous as Maldon Sea Salt and Southend pier.

But linguistics experts have defended the Essex accent and urged our readers to be proud of the way they talk.

Jon Parkin, a Springfield-based voice coach, added: "I would never advise anyone to get rid of their accent completely.

"The Essex accent is a very sharp and angular way to speak which can make it incredibly hard.

"When people come to me I always suggest that we can tidy up the accent a little bit but that an accent should be celebrated and something that we're proud of.

"In Essex we don't over pronounce our vowels and so I would suggest a few exercises that really lengthen the vowels and so when they come out, they come out softer.

"A much less distinct accent has in the past always been perceived as more desirable and more intelligent but really we should be proud of our accents and show them off."

In a survey released this month by executive communication consultants, The Aziz Company, 70 per cent of respondents admitted they might have serious doubts about employing someone who spoke with a strong Essex accent. But it said Scottish and Home Counties accents were associated with hard work, success and reliability.

"It's not possible to say that having a strong Essex accent is a bad or a good thing because it's a true mixture," said Nick Hillman, professor of linguistics at Anglia Ruskin University's Chelmsford campus.

"There is no longer an 'Essex accent' as such; rather it's a mixture of Estuary English and an almost Cockney twang.

"Some people wish to dumb down their accent while others who want to seem more hip and cool might exaggerate theirs.

"There's a very famous clip of Tony Blair speaking to a group of schoolchildren in Essex – he adopts a much more heightened accent in order to be on their level.

"A strong accent such as the one heard in Essex can be regarded as more working class and less desirable.

"In the past, you only had to turn on the BBC and hear that all the presenters spoke with a received pronunciation accent, which is the old fashion 'posh' way of speaking. But now regional accents are very much common.

"Accents are very much at the mercy of popular culture and society.

"I always end my course with the question, 'What does the future hold for the Essex accent?' and it really does depend on society and popularity – but an accent will always be something that some people love and others hate."