Barrow upon Soar

We've got a fossil. You've got a queue.

Twinned with the queue at the bridge lights

28/100Crap Score

Too small for the table, which starts at 10,000 people, but it still scores 28. Higher scores are crapper.

How the score works

Have your say

Crap Town of the Year 2026/27

See the race

The 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 Barrow upon Soar? Write in.

Red light on the bridge. Again.

Pretty village, loads of pubs, and a bridge that jams every rush hour.

Barrow is very proud of a fossil. A sea reptile they call the Barrow Kipper, and it's on the roundabout sign and the football badge, because what else have you got. Meanwhile the lights on the river bridge jam up the whole village twice a day.

The river's the bigger problem. The storm overflows within a kilometre go off for nine times the typical town's hours, and that's the Soar they race canoes on. The public pool shut in 2010, so the river's all that's left for a swim. Plenty of public toilets per head, to be fair. Shame the sewers don't use them.

The editor, still at the lights

What the score is made of

Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.

Barrow upon Soar's 96 for sewage spills means it's crapper than 96% of towns.

Sewage spills96/1002,500 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
Air pollution65/1009.2 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 7.1 of fine particles, 2024 average
Criminal damage and arson46/1006.7 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
Rain44/100125 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
Broadband39/1006.9% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 6.3% across the Charnwood council area
Deliberate fires39/1005.0 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
Serious road collisions32/1001.8 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
Food hygiene31/1000.0% rated 0 to 2, of the 28 food businesses with a rating
Anti-social behaviour24/10010.8 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
Fly-tipping14/1005.5 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Charnwood council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25

**Your patch: Leicestershire**Towns in the same county. Top of the table is crappest.
Pos	Town	National	Score
4	Blaby and Whetstone	542nd	45
In danger of becoming nice from here down.5	Melton Mowbray	655th	33
6	Leicester Forest East and Kirby Muxloe	674th	32
7	Enderby and Narborough	695th	29
–	Barrow upon Soar	–	28
8	Whitwick	723rd	27
9	Shepshed	858th	13
10	Hinckley	877th	11
11	Mountsorrel	888th	10

Below the dashed line: in danger of becoming nice.

Barrow upon Soar by numbers

Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.

Crime, muck and dodgy water

What's left on the high street

Getting about, getting online, getting rained on

Charnwood council

Have a crap-off

Barrow upon Soar against your mate's town, and a match ticket to rub it in.

Against

Barrow upon SoarCrap Score 28

QuorndonCrap Score 16

Ten ingredients. One verdict. Who's crapper? The higher Crap Score takes it.