Crap Towns / Gwent / Abersychan
Abersychan
78/100Crap Score
Too small for the table, which starts at 10,000 people, but it still scores 78. 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
Got something to say about Abersychan? Write in.
agree it's crap have defended it
Ruined, and they're still smashing it.
The ironworks is in bits, the tunnel's old, and the kids are smashing up whatever's left.
Ever been to Abersychan? It's got an old railway tunnel and the ruins of an ironworks, and that's your lot. Locals reckon the Big Arch is impressive. They want to get out more.
The vandals still have a go at the ironworks, like it wasn't wrecked enough already, and criminal damage is running at nearly twice the typical town's rate. The river gets the sewage. The storm overflows go off for nearly 20 times the typical town's hours, and it rains here on 156 days a year to wash it all down the valley.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Abersychan's 99 for sewage spills means it's crapper than 99% of towns.
- Sewage spills99/1005,395 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Broadband98/10035.6% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 17.3% across the Torfaen council area
- Criminal damage and arson94/10013.1 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Rain79/100156 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Anti-social behaviour64/10017.2 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Food hygiene50/1002.6% rated 0 to 2, of the 39 food businesses with a rating
- Deliberate fires50/100
- Fly-tipping44/10010.2 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Torfaen council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Serious road collisions44/1002.2 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Air pollution14/1005.4 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 5.3 of fine particles, 2024 average
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Blackwood | 92 |
| 7 | Caerphilly | 88 |
| 8 | Pontypool | 86 |
| 9 | Ystrad Mynach | 85 |
| – | Abersychan | 78 |
| 10 | Cwmbrân | 75 |
| 11 | Chepstow | 59 |
| 12 | Abergavenny | 57 |
| In danger of becoming nice from here down.13 | Monmouth | 31 |
Below the dashed line: in danger of becoming nice.
Abersychan by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 86.8 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 14% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 3 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 4.0 per 10,000 people, 18% higher than the typical town's 3.4
What's left on the high street
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.04am last bus out on a Wednesday About the same: About the same as the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.7% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 40% higher than the typical town's 0.5%
- 30.5% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 2x the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,485 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
Torfaen council
Have a crap-off
Abersychan 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.