to be fair (though don't think for minute that i've made this mistake), Leicester is not spelled even remotely phonetically. nor is worcester.
it always grates a bit when someone goes off on tourists/visitors for mispronouncing the names, but then when they're in the northeast US, the same people will call us stupid for pronouncing a place "pea-bi-dee" with a spelling of Peabody.
ha ! the best one is Towcester