Crap Towns / Tyne and Wear / South Shields
South Shields
94/100Crap Score
People from here are Sanddancers.
59th crappest of 984 towns, and 3rd in Tyne and Wear. 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 South Shields? Write in.
agree it's crap have defended it
Stay on the beach
Shields has a Roman fort, a cracking beach and a town centre that's fallen to bits.
South Shields has a Roman fort, sandy beaches, a fairground and the end of the Great North Run. Then there's King Street, which is run down and grim, and the statues by the river everyone calls the Weebles. Bookies and pubs everywhere. The beach is lovely, though. Stay on the beach.
Mind which bit. Littlehaven was rated Poor for bathing in 2025. Vandalism and anti-social behaviour both run at twice the typical town's rate, things get set on fire at nearly eight times, and shoplifting at two and a half. HSBC, Lloyds and NatWest have all gone, and 4 swimming pools have shut since 2010. The Sanddancers will still tell you it's better than North Shields.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
South Shields's 97 for deliberate fires means it's crapper than 97% of towns.
- Deliberate fires97/10043.7 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Criminal damage and arson96/10014.2 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Anti-social behaviour92/10028.7 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Fly-tipping91/10027.9 incidents per 1,000 people a year, South Tyneside council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Food hygiene84/1004.6% rated 0 to 2, of the 460 food businesses with a rating
- Sewage spills64/100487 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Air pollution56/10010.6 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 6.2 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Broadband45/1007.7% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 7.1% across the South Tyneside council area
- Serious road collisions40/1002.2 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Rain25/100119 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newcastle upon Tyne | 99 |
| 2 | Wallsend | 97 |
| 3 | South Shields | 94 |
| 4 | Blaydon | 92 |
| 5 | Gateshead | 90 |
| 6 | Tynemouth | 89 |
| 7 | Sunderland | 87 |
| 8 | Jarrow | 82 |
| 9 | Hebburn | 75 |
South Shields by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 114 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 50% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 19 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Better: 2.6 per 10,000 people, 24% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 4 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2020
- 3 of 5 bathing waters here or within 2 km rated Excellent in 2025; 1 rated Poor
What's left on the high street
- 62 pubs, 75 hairdressers, 17 charity shops, 13 bookmakers, 3 vape shops, 11 banks, 5 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 7.5% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (7 of 93) Worse: 1.9x the typical town's 4.0%
- 3 bank branch closures announced since 2022 Worse: 4.1 per 100,000 people, 21% higher than the typical town's 3.4
- 11 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Worse: 1.5 per 10,000 people, 6% lower than the typical town's 1.6
- 5 public swimming pools open; 4 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
- 12.16am last bus out on a Wednesday About the same: About the same as the typical town's 12.14am
- 1.4% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 2.8x the typical town's 0.5%
- 21.3% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 37% higher than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,586 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
South Tyneside council
- £2,434 Band D council tax (2026-27) About the same: £42 more than the English average
- 15% of South Tyneside council's unclassified roads should have been considered for maintenance (2025-26) Better: 6% lower than England's 16%
- 7 ombudsman complaints upheld against the council in 2025-26
- More on the council
Have a crap-off
South Shields 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.