Crap Towns / Northumberland / Ashington
Ashington
61/100Crap Score
382nd crappest of 984 towns, and 2nd in Northumberland. 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
Miners painted it. The council can't.
Pits gone, library gone, and the town centre's been nearly done for years.
Ashington's miners did a full shift underground and then painted pictures good enough for galleries. The council's had years at the town centre and managed some hoardings. Station Road's got 5 bookies and not much else to spend your money in.
Even the pit headgear at Woodhorn is on the Heritage at Risk register, and Hirst Library shut in 2023. The vandals are thriving, mind. Criminal damage sits at more than twice the typical town's rate, and so does shoplifting, which is going some given what's on Station Road.
Only Blyth beats it in Northumberland, and Ashington will take that as a result. Morpeth's up the road. Go there.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Ashington's 97 for criminal damage and arson means it's crapper than 97% of towns.
- Criminal damage and arson97/10015.5 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Deliberate fires93/10027.2 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Anti-social behaviour91/10027.9 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Fly-tipping63/10012.6 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Northumberland council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Broadband50/1003.5% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 17.9% across the Northumberland council area
- Sewage spills48/100254 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Rain37/100123 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Serious road collisions34/1002.0 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Food hygiene12/1001.0% rated 0 to 2, of the 197 food businesses with a rating
- Air pollution9/1004.8 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 5.1 of fine particles, 2024 average
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blyth | 83 |
| 2 | Ashington | 61 |
| 3 | Prudhoe | 58 |
| 4 | Berwick-upon-Tweed | 58 |
| 5 | Morpeth | 57 |
| 6 | Bedlington | 56 |
| 7 | Hexham | 49 |
| 8 | Cramlington | 47 |
| In danger of becoming nice from here down.9 | Ponteland | 34 |
Below the dashed line: in danger of becoming nice.
Ashington by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 124 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 1.6x the typical town's 76.2
- 800 reports of fly-tipping on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 283 per 10,000 people, 257.3x the typical town's 1.1
- 2 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2025
- 2 of 2 bathing waters here or within 2 km rated Excellent in 2025
What's left on the high street
- 13 pubs, 18 hairdressers, 6 charity shops, 5 bookmakers, 2 vape shops, 3 banks, 2 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 0.0% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (0 of 47) Better: Against the typical town's 4.0%
- 1 bank branch closure announced since 2022 About the same: 3.5 per 100,000 people, about the same as the typical town's 3.4
- 1 library shut for good since 2010: Hirst Library (2023)
- 2 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Worse: 0.7 per 10,000 people, 56% lower than the typical town's 1.6
- 2 public swimming pools open; 2 closed for good since 2010 About the same: 0.7 per 10,000 people, about the same as the typical English town's 0.7
- 1 place on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.15am 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%
- 10.9% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Better: 30% lower than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,604 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
Northumberland council
Have a crap-off
Ashington 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.