If it wasn’t bad enough for the Kiwis losing the Cricket World Cup to the Poms in a cliffhanger, now there’s further ignominy.

A street in Wales has been wrested the honour of the world’s steepest street from the South Island city of Dunedin, after a successful campaign by residents.

The street of Ffordd Pen Llech in the sleepy seaside town of Harlech is now home to the world’s steepest street.

The Guinness World Records confirmed this week that the street had a gradient of 37.45 percentage points steeper than the former title holder, Dunedin’s Baldwin Street, which held the record for 10 years.

The Welsh campaign was led by businessman and architectural historian Gwyn Headley.

He said he felt “jubilation” now that the street has been recognised.

He added he felt sorry for New Zealand, but that “steeper is steeper”.

The New Zealand Herald reported that locals – stoic as ever – maintained Baldwin Street would remain a tourist attraction, just that some of the marketing around it might have to change.

One plucky Kiwi real estate agent said the loss of the title may even have a positive effect on property prices as potential buyers may have been put off by the crowds of tourists that gathered there daily.