Crap Towns / West Midlands / Wednesbury
Wednesbury
90/100Crap Score
Known as Tube Town.
100th crappest of 984 towns, and 2nd in the West Midlands. 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 Wednesbury? Write in.
agree it's crap have defended it
Go to IKEA, then go home.
People come from miles for IKEA. Nobody goes into town.
Wednesbury made tubes and steel, and all it kept of the steelworks is the gates, stood on a roundabout like a headstone. People drive in from miles for IKEA and never set foot in the centre, which is takeaways, nail bars and hairdressers in buildings nobody's painted since the steel went. The old Market Place has ended up on the at-risk register, and the market got shunted round the corner with fewer stalls.
Sandwell's patch gets fly-tipped at 3.3 times the typical council's rate, and some idiot's setting fire to whatever's left: the deliberate fires come in at 2.9 times the typical town's. Shoplifting and car crime are through the roof. Only Walsall is crapper in the West Midlands, and Walsall's just up the road.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Wednesbury's 97 for air pollution means it's crapper than 97% of towns.
- Air pollution97/10015.3 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 8.3 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Fly-tipping94/10035.9 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Sandwell council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Food hygiene93/1008.7% rated 0 to 2, of the 127 food businesses with a rating
- Deliberate fires86/10016.7 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Criminal damage and arson83/10010.2 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Serious road collisions80/1003.5 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Rain56/100131 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Anti-social behaviour39/1009.0 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Sewage spills33/100112 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Broadband18/1004.2% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 3.8% across the Sandwell council area
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walsall | 92 |
| 2 | Wednesbury | 90 |
| 3 | Birmingham | 86 |
| 4 | Bloxwich | 84 |
| 5 | Brownhills | 82 |
| 6 | West Bromwich | 81 |
| 7 | Cradley Heath | 77 |
| 8 | Dudley | 76 |
| 9 | Willenhall | 74 |
Wednesbury by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 129 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 1.7x the typical town's 76.2
- 5 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Better: 2.5 per 10,000 people, 26% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 6 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2026
What's left on the high street
- 16 pubs, 18 hairdressers, 5 charity shops, 2 bookmakers, 2 vape shops, 2 banks, 2 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 7.4% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (2 of 27) Worse: 1.9x the typical town's 4.0%
- 1 bank branch closure announced since 2022 Worse: 4.9 per 100,000 people, 44% higher than the typical town's 3.4
- 4 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Better: 2.0 per 10,000 people, 25% higher than the typical town's 1.6
- 2 public swimming pools open; 2 closed for good since 2010 Better: 1.0 per 10,000 people, 43% higher than the typical English town's 0.7
- 1 place on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.41am last bus out on a Wednesday Better: Later than the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.4% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Better: 20% lower than the typical town's 0.5%
- 30.2% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 1.9x the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,457 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) About the same: About the same as the typical town's 1,532
Sandwell council
Have a crap-off
Wednesbury 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.