Crap Towns / East Sussex / Hastings
Hastings
87/100Crap Score
133rd crappest of 984 towns, and the crappest in East Sussex. 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
Wrong town for the battle
Famous for a battle that happened down the road. The gulls fight dirtier.
Hastings is famous for a battle that actually happened at Battle, down the road. What it's actually got is the Old Town, fishing boats hauled up on the beach, the cliff lifts and gulls ripping open bin bags. The town centre is empty shops, the roads are patches on patches, and the loose paving slabs squirt water up your leg.
It's the crappest town in East Sussex, and it's sunny with it: 1,880 hours a year, all the better to see it by. Serious crashes come in at over twice the typical town's rate. There are 13 places on the Heritage at Risk register and the children's library has shut. The pier's still waiting for whatever was meant to happen next.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Hastings's 97 for serious road collisions means it's crapper than 97% of towns.
- Serious road collisions97/1005.2 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Criminal damage and arson90/10011.5 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Broadband86/10016.4% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 16.4% across the Hastings council area
- Anti-social behaviour80/10021.8 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Fly-tipping76/10016.9 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Hastings council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Deliberate fires70/1009.3 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Food hygiene56/1002.7% rated 0 to 2, of the 629 food businesses with a rating
- Air pollution37/1006.7 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 6.7 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Rain29/100120 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Sewage spills13/10015.7 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2024 to 2025
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hastings | 87 |
| 2 | Newhaven | 75 |
| 3 | Lewes | 70 |
| 4 | Eastbourne | 66 |
| 5 | Bexhill-on-Sea | 54 |
| 6 | Brighton and Hove | 51 |
| In danger of becoming nice from here down.7 | Hailsham | 35 |
| 8 | Peacehaven | 30 |
| 9 | Polegate | 23 |
Below the dashed line: in danger of becoming nice.
Hastings by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 107 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 40% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 570 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 62.3 per 10,000 people, 18.3x the typical town's 3.4
- 5 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2026
- 1 of 2 bathing waters here or within 2 km rated Excellent in 2025
What's left on the high street
- 51 pubs, 25 hairdressers, 13 charity shops, 4 bookmakers, 1 vape shop, 6 banks, 2 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 6.3% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (6 of 95) Worse: 1.6x the typical town's 4.0%
- 1 bank branch closure announced since 2022 Better: 1.1 per 100,000 people, 68% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 1 library shut for good since 2010: Hastings Children's Library (2018)
- 18 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Better: 2.0 per 10,000 people, 25% higher than the typical town's 1.6
- 3 public swimming pools open; 1 closed for good since 2010 Worse: 0.3 per 10,000 people, 57% lower than the typical English town's 0.7
- 13 places on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 11.50pm last bus out on a Wednesday Worse: Earlier than the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.3% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Better: 40% lower than the typical town's 0.5%
- 9.7% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Better: 37% lower than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,880 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Better: 23% higher than the typical town's 1,532
Hastings council
- £2,677 Band D council tax (2026-27) Worse: £285 more than the English average
- 18% of East Sussex County Council's unclassified roads should have been considered for maintenance (2025-26) Worse: 13% higher than England's 16%
- None ombudsman complaints upheld against the council in 2025-26
- More on the council
Have a crap-off
Hastings 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.