Crap Towns / Dorset / Verwood
Verwood
2/100Crap Score
962nd crappest of 984 towns, and 14th in Dorset. 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
Verwood. Bring a car.
Old pottery town surrounded by heath. Very little crime, no swimming pool and buses that barely run.
Verwood used to make pots and now mostly makes commuters. It's surrounded by heathland and forest, nobody causes any trouble and the roads are safe. But you need a car for everything, there's no upper school and no swimming pool, and they want to dig a quarry. There's a Rustic Fayre.
60.2% of people live more than 400 metres from a park, and the last bus goes at 7.52pm, so it's heath or nothing. Dorset wants £2,765 for a Band D home for the privilege.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Verwood's 84 for broadband means it's crapper than 84% of towns.
- Broadband84/10011.6% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 23.3% across the Dorset council area
- Rain58/100132 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Sewage spills55/100337 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Food hygiene25/1000.0% rated 0 to 2, of the 39 food businesses with a rating
- Air pollution20/1005.7 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 5.8 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Serious road collisions15/1001.4 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Deliberate fires14/1002.8 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Fly-tipping8/1004.2 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Dorset council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Anti-social behaviour3/1006.4 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Criminal damage and arson2/1002.8 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Christchurch | 22 |
| 7 | West Moors | 20 |
| 8 | Sherborne | 19 |
| 9 | Wimborne Minster | 19 |
| 10 | Corfe Mullen | 14 |
| 11 | Ferndown | 10 |
| 12 | Blandford Forum | 8 |
| 13 | Gillingham | 8 |
| 14 | Verwood | 2 |
Verwood by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 27.4 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Better: 64% lower 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 Worse: 13.9 per 10,000 people, 4.1x the typical town's 3.4
- 4 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2024
What's left on the high street
- 3 pubs, 2 hairdressers on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 1 bank branch closure announced since 2022 Worse: 7.3 per 100,000 people, 2.1x the typical town's 3.4
- 2 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Worse: 1.5 per 10,000 people, 6% lower than the typical town's 1.6
- None public swimming pools open Worse: Against the typical English town's 0.7 per 10,000 people
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 7.52pm last bus out on a Wednesday Worse: Earlier than the typical town's 12.14am
- 2.4% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 4.8x the typical town's 0.5%
- 60.2% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 3.9x the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,705 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Better: 11% higher than the typical town's 1,532
Dorset council
Have a crap-off
Verwood 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.