Map reveals 10 most dangerous places to live in the UK – check your area | UK | News
Blackpool named the most dangerous place to live in England (Image: Getty)
A popular seaside town has risen in the rankings to become the most dangerous place to live in England and Wales; You can use our map to see crime rates where you live. The latest Home Office figures show recorded crime in England and Wales continues to fall, with all crimes except fraud expected to fall by 2% in 2025 compared to the previous year.
This includes an 11% reduction in burglary, an 8% reduction in burglary and a 6% reduction in murder. However, some types of crime increased, including sexual offenses (by 5%), gun possession (6%) and drug offenses (18%). The figures also reveal that some parts of the country are much more dangerous places to live than others.
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Crime rates, calculated by dividing the number of crimes by population size, are often considered the fairest way to compare crime in areas of very different sizes.
They show that while the largest cities, including Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, experience the highest crime rates, those living in smaller areas are more likely to experience crime.
Of more than 250 council areas in England and Wales outside London, Blackpool has the most crime, figures show.
Last year Blackpool police recorded 21,437 non-fraud offenses. This translates into a crime rate of 149 per 1,000 people living in the town; This is the highest crime rate in England and Wales outside the capital.
A year ago Blackpool were in second place, but despite a 3% drop in crime over the last 12 months, they have overtaken Middlesbrough into first place, driven by particularly high violent crime rates.
Blackpool tops the list (Image: Express)
The crime rate fell slightly faster in Middlesbrough, which fell out of the top spot last year, but the North East town remains in second place with a high crime rate of 147 crimes per 1,000 people.
Manchester is third (143 per 1,000 people), followed by Hartlepool (132), Bristol (130), Liverpool (124), Nottingham (122) and Southampton (120).
At the other end of the spectrum, Broadland in Norfolk is the safest place to live in England and Wales, with a low crime rate of just 35 per 1,000 people.
It is followed by Waverley (37), Ribble Valley (38), North Kesteven (38) and Suffolk Coastal (39).
Using our interactive map you can check the crime rate and see how it compares to where you live.
Broadland in Norfolk (Image: Getty)
A spokesman for Lancashire Constabulary said: “We are committed to disrupting and preventing crime across Lancashire, including Blackpool.
“We would like to reassure anyone with concerns that we have dedicated teams across the town covering many different aspects of policing, including community engagement, emergency response and detectives. These officers will continue to carry out their duties and police Blackpool to keep residents safe and reduce crime.”
A spokesman for Cleveland Police said: “Despite Middlesbrough having one of the highest per capita crime rates in England, police leaders say the latest figures show sustained, targeted action is making real progress.”
The force says neighborhood policing working closely with partners, new technologies including drones deployed as first responders, and targeted initiatives such as fighting crime in the city center have resulted in a 15% drop in crime since 2023.
The list of the most dangerous places does not include London, where large numbers of tourists in central London easily prey on opportunistic criminals.
In Westminster, for example, the combination of a relatively low resident population and large numbers of visitors results in a skewed crime rate of 380 crimes per 1,000 people; This is much higher than in other parts of the country.
Excluding Westminster, Camden has the capital’s highest rate of crimes at 180 crimes per 1,000 people, followed by Kensington and Chelsea (150).
Outside central London, Islington in North London has the highest crime rate (134), followed by Southwark in South London (122).
