Crap Towns / Lancashire / Morecambe
Morecambe
97/100Crap Score
Known as Bradford-on-Sea.
34th crappest of 984 towns, and 13th in Lancashire. 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
Eden? Any day now, love.
Lovely view of the Lakes. Turn round and it's boarded-up shops.
Morecambe has a cracking view across the bay to the Lakes. Turn round and it's boarded-up shops and bookies. The piers went, the pools went, the theme park was a disaster and Eden's been coming for years. The old fairground site is still waiting for whatever's next.
Anti-social behaviour sits at nearly three times the typical town's rate, vandalism at nearly twice, and serious crashes at more than twice. The bikes get nicked and the houses get burgled more than most. There are 50 hairdressers and no public swimming pool. Lovely sunsets.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Morecambe's 98 for anti-social behaviour means it's crapper than 98% of towns.
- Anti-social behaviour98/10039.4 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Serious road collisions97/1005.3 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Criminal damage and arson94/10013.4 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Fly-tipping87/10023.5 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Lancaster council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Food hygiene78/1004.2% rated 0 to 2, of the 263 food businesses with a rating
- Rain76/100152 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Deliberate fires63/1007.7 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Broadband55/1007.9% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 10.9% across the Lancaster council area
- Sewage spills26/10070.6 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Air pollution17/1005.9 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 5.4 of fine particles, 2024 average
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Preston | 98 |
| 10 | Nelson | 98 |
| 11 | Rawtenstall | 97 |
| 12 | Brierfield | 97 |
| 13 | Morecambe | 97 |
| 14 | Haslingden | 96 |
| 15 | Great Harwood | 96 |
| 16 | Oswaldtwistle | 95 |
| 17 | Blackpool | 92 |
Morecambe 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
- 14 reports of abandoned vehicles on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 4.3 per 10,000 people, 4.8x the typical town's 0.9
- 2 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2023
- 0 of 2 bathing waters here or within 2 km rated Excellent in 2025
What's left on the high street
- 34 pubs, 50 hairdressers, 13 charity shops, 5 bookmakers, 8 vape shops, 4 banks, 2 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 2.4% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (1 of 41) Better: 40% lower than the typical town's 4.0%
- 2 bank branch closures announced since 2022 Worse: 6.1 per 100,000 people, 1.8x the typical town's 3.4
- 10 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Better: 3.1 per 10,000 people, 1.9x the typical town's 1.6
- None public swimming pools open; 1 closed for good since 2010 Worse: Against the typical English town's 0.7 per 10,000 people
- 1 place on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.45am last bus out on a Wednesday Better: Later 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%
- 8.3% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Better: 46% lower than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,567 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
Lancaster council
Have a crap-off
Morecambe 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.