Crap Towns / Somerset / Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare
51/100Crap Score
Known as Birmingham-on-Sea.
486th crappest of 984 towns, and 5th in Somerset. 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
Weston-super-Mud.
Seaside town, plenty of beach, no sea. The tide goes out so far you can't even see it.
Weston has a pier, donkeys on the beach and miles of mud, because the sea goes out so far you can't see it. People lose their shoes looking for it. The High Street is closed shops and looks knackered, the beach is covered in litter after a sunny day and the gulls will have your chips out of your hand.
When you do find the sea, don't get in it. Weston Main, Uphill Slipway and Sand Bay all came out Poor for bathing water. Crime comes in at nearly one and a half times the typical town's rate. Locals call it Weston-super-Nightmare.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Weston-super-Mare's 77 for criminal damage and arson means it's crapper than 77% of towns.
- Criminal damage and arson77/1009.3 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Anti-social behaviour68/10017.9 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Deliberate fires68/1008.7 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Rain68/100142 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Serious road collisions62/1002.7 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Broadband59/1009.1% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 10.6% across the North Somerset council area
- Fly-tipping38/1009.1 incidents per 1,000 people a year, North Somerset council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Sewage spills32/100111 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Air pollution22/1006.6 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 5.5 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Food hygiene15/1001.4% rated 0 to 2, of the 556 food businesses with a rating
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bath | 66 |
| 2 | Bridgwater | 57 |
| 3 | Taunton | 52 |
| 4 | Keynsham | 51 |
| 5 | Weston-super-Mare | 51 |
| 6 | Midsomer Norton | 41 |
| In danger of becoming nice from here down.7 | Chard | 38 |
| 8 | Yeovil | 34 |
| 9 | Minehead | 33 |
Below the dashed line: in danger of becoming nice.
Weston-super-Mare by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 113 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 48% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 13 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Better: 1.5 per 10,000 people, 56% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 10 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2024
- 1 of 4 bathing waters here or within 2 km rated Excellent in 2025; 3 rated Poor
What's left on the high street
- 36 pubs, 37 hairdressers, 18 charity shops, 7 bookmakers, 5 vape shops, 8 banks, 3 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 4.2% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (3 of 72) Worse: 5% higher than the typical town's 4.0%
- 2 bank branch closures announced since 2022 Better: 2.4 per 100,000 people, 29% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 29 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Better: 3.4 per 10,000 people, 2.1x the typical town's 1.6
- 3 public swimming pools open Worse: 0.4 per 10,000 people, 43% lower than the typical English town's 0.7
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- All night buses on a Wednesday Better: The typical town's last bus goes at 12.14am
- 0.7% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 40% higher than the typical town's 0.5%
- 14.0% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Better: 10% lower than the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,645 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Better: 7% higher than the typical town's 1,532
North Somerset council
- £2,491 Band D council tax (2026-27) About the same: £99 more than the English average
- 4% of North Somerset council's unclassified roads should have been considered for maintenance (2025-26) Better: 75% lower than England's 16%
- 7 ombudsman complaints upheld against the council in 2025-26
- More on the council
Have a crap-off
Weston-super-Mare 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.