Crap Towns / Devon / Dawlish
Dawlish
31/100Crap Score
675th crappest of 984 towns, and 10th in Devon. 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 Dawlish? Write in.
agree it's crap have defended it
Swans first. Then trains. Then you.
Black swans, a railway on the sea wall, and a town convinced Teignmouth gets everything.
Dawlish has black swans on the Brook and a railway that falls in the sea every time it gets windy. The Lawn's been dug up for ages, the hills behind town will kill you, and there's nothing for the kids to do.
Gigabit broadband reaches 59.9% of premises, so they can't even sit in their rooms properly. The storm overflows spill more than most, and Teignbridge wants £2,643 for a Band D home. And ask anyone in Dawlish, Teignmouth gets all the money.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Dawlish's 99 for broadband means it's crapper than 99% of towns.
- Broadband99/10040.1% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 23.1% across the Teignbridge council area
- Sewage spills85/1001,148 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Criminal damage and arson56/1007.5 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Rain51/100128 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Anti-social behaviour37/10013.1 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Fly-tipping28/1007.3 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Teignbridge council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Serious road collisions26/1001.7 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Food hygiene25/1001.1% rated 0 to 2, of the 93 food businesses with a rating
- Deliberate fires20/1003.3 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Air pollution7/1004.0 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 5.2 of fine particles, 2024 average
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Exeter | 45 |
| 7 | Bideford | 42 |
| In danger of becoming nice from here down.8 | Newton Abbot | 39 |
| 9 | Honiton | 37 |
| 10 | Dawlish | 31 |
| 11 | Tavistock | 27 |
| 12 | Kingsteignton | 26 |
| 13 | Teignmouth | 24 |
| 14 | Brixham | 23 |
Below the dashed line: in danger of becoming nice.
Dawlish by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 70.8 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Better: 7% lower than the typical town's 76.2
- 2 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Better: 1.7 per 10,000 people, 50% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 1 serious pollution incident within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2023
- 3 of 4 bathing waters here or within 2 km rated Excellent in 2025
What's left on the high street
- 10 pubs, 2 hairdressers, 1 charity shop on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 1 banking hub opened here
- 5 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Better: 4.2 per 10,000 people, 2.6x the typical town's 1.6
- 1 public swimming pool open Better: 0.8 per 10,000 people, 14% higher than the typical English town's 0.7
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.27am 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%
- 2.5% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Better: 84% lower than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,718 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Better: 12% higher than the typical town's 1,532
Teignbridge council
Have a crap-off
Dawlish 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.