Crap Towns / Mid Glamorgan / Abercynon
Abercynon
61/100Crap Score
Too small for the table, which starts at 10,000 people, but it still scores 61. Higher scores are crapper.
Have your say
Crap Town of the Year 2026/27
See the raceThe public vote. It's separate from the Crap Score, and it closes on 31 December 2027.
Letters from the locals
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agree it's crap have defended it
First steam train ever. It went back.
The Taff meets the Cynon here. So does everybody's sewage.
Abercynon's big claim to fame is that a steam train turned up in 1804. Then it left, and fair play to it. They've been going on about it ever since, mostly because nothing else has happened.
The Taff and the Cynon meet here, and the storm overflows dump into them for nearly 48 times as long per head as the typical town's. The walk to the station is pitch black and covered in dog shit, the off-road bikes are at it all evening, and gigabit broadband reaches 21.8% of premises. The steam train got here quicker.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Abercynon's 100 for sewage spills means it's crapper than 100% of towns.
- Sewage spills100/10013,085 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Broadband99/10078.2% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 18.6% across the Rhondda Cynon Taf council area
- Rain85/100162 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Fly-tipping71/10015.3 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Rhondda Cynon Taf council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Food hygiene67/1004.9% rated 0 to 2, of the 41 food businesses with a rating
- Criminal damage and arson52/1007.2 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Deliberate fires50/100
- Anti-social behaviour22/10010.5 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Air pollution18/1006.4 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 5.2 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Serious road collisions11/1001.0 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Porth | 76 |
| 2 | Rhondda | 71 |
| 3 | Merthyr Tydfil | 69 |
| 4 | Aberdare | 68 |
| – | Abercynon | 61 |
| 5 | Pontypridd | 57 |
| 6 | Maesteg | 53 |
| 7 | Tonypandy | 52 |
| 8 | Mountain Ash | 49 |
Abercynon by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 71.9 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Better: 6% lower than the typical town's 76.2
- 1 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Better: 1.6 per 10,000 people, 53% lower than the typical town's 3.4
What's left on the high street
- 5 pubs, 1 hairdresser on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 0.0% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (0 of 11) Better: Against the typical town's 4.0%
- 1 cash machine closure assessed by LINK
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.03am last bus out on a Wednesday About the same: About the same as the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.5% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 0.5%
- 23.8% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space, and OS maps no public park here Worse: 1.5x the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,474 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
Rhondda Cynon Taf council
Have a crap-off
Abercynon against your mate's town, and a match ticket to rub it in.
- ?Fly-tippingper 1,000, council area?
- ?Anti-social behaviourper 1,000 people?
- ?Serious road crashesper 10,000 people?
- ?Sewage spillshours per 10,000 people?
- ?Food hygienerated poor?
- ?Criminal damageper 1,000 people?
- ?Dirty airµg/m³?
- ?No gigabitof premises can't get it?
- ?Deliberate firesper 10,000 people?
- ?Raindays a year?
Ten ingredients. One verdict. Who's crapper? The higher Crap Score takes it.