England’s most crime-infested beaches can today be named and shamed.
Brighton Beach – arguably the country’s most famous – topped the table, Daily Mail analysis found.
More than 1,500 crimes or reports of anti-social behaviour such as street drinking, littering and begging occured along that 6-mile stretch of pebbles last year. That equated to at least four each day.
Yet when considering size, top of the charts came a tiny fishing quay in Devon.
The strip of sand in Teignmouth, barely 50m wide, saw 46 crimes or reports of anti-social behaviour in the year ending June. That amounted to a rate of 260 per 1,000 square metres – almost 100 times higher than that of Brighton Beach.
Nearly 60 per cent of the crimes were violent or sexual and another 10 were public order offences. The tiny sands back onto several pubs.
Ahead of the August Bank Holiday, our full analysis is available to view below in our interactive map.
Built with official police statistics for 800-plus beaches, either search for your go-to destination or tap directly on a strip of sand to see its crime rate.
Geometry data was taken from OpenStreetMap – a highly-detailed map used by the likes of Garmin.
It means Brighton Beach, for the purposes of this analysis, stretched from the Marina to Shoreham Power Station.
Many would consider that beach itself to end near the i360 observation tower.
At Brighton Beach, nearly four in ten of the crimes or reports of antisocial behaviour were of a violent or sexual nature.
However, the area is also home to a large homeless population, many of whom suffer with drug abuse and mental health problems.
The ‘lawless’ weekend getaway destination has proved a paradise for pickpockets and muggers hoping to steal or rob valuables from unsuspecting tourists, with around three in 10 (450) crimes being a theft, robbery, burglary or shoplifting.
Sam Farah, who runs the nearby Sparkling Newsagents, previously told the Mail: ‘Especially at night and it becomes lawless. In my store they target the alcohol specifically. They walk in and just take it.
‘Police have told us not to confront them so they know they can just get away with it so they do it repeatedly. This is especially typical in the 14-17 year age range where they know nothing can be done.’
| Beach name | Crimes per 1,000m² |
|---|---|
| Spratt Sand – Devon | 260.7 |
| Reform Beach – Devon | 86.8 |
| Gales Hill – Devon | 34.2 |
| Morecambe North Beach – Lancashire | 15.7 |
| Goodrington Sands North – Devon | 9.8 |
| Queens Bay – Essex | 9.7 |
| Traeth y Bettws – Anglesey | 9.1 |
| Herne Bay Beach – Kent | 8.3 |
| Source: data.police.uk | |
Beach huts and a train line flank the edge of Goodrington Sands North in Devon, which had a crime rate of 9.8 crimes per 1,000m²
Ali Mozaffari, 37, of Golders Green, London, was witnessed by horrified onlookers raping a woman on Brighton beach in the early hours of September 10 2023
He said that thieves often target high-value alcohol such as champagne, and added: ‘Some people can get quite violent if you confront them. We have CCTV all over the place but they do it anyway. There is no deterrent anymore.’
Thugs have also let loose on the popular beach, with 161 public order offences recorded there in the 12 months to June, as well as 80 reports of criminal damage and arson.
Rapists and sex offenders are also running rampant on the pebbled coast.
Sussex Police launched an investigation last September after reports that a teenage girl was raped and a woman had been sexually assaulted on Brighton Beach.
Authorities received reports about the two sex offences at around 6am on September 8, it was reported at the time.
The alleged incidents took place in an area between the two piers at the beach and the two victims know each other, according to the force.
A different rape investigation reached its conclusion in January with the jailing of Ali Mozaffari, 37, of Golders Green, London, who raped a vulnerable woman on Brighton Beach on September 10, 2023.
Mozaffari raped the woman in front of horrified onlookers on the beach, to the west of Brighton Palace Pier, at around 5.40am, before feigning unconsciousness in an attempt to avoid arrest.
Herne Bay Beach in Kent has a crime rate of 8.3 crimes per 1,000m² – the eighth highest in the country
A view of the Anglesey coastline. Traeth y Bettws (Little Beach – not pictured) has a crime rate of 9.1 crimes per 1,000m²
Morecambe North Beach saw 167 total crimes reported, giving it a crime rate of 15.7 crimes per 1,000m² – the 4th highest in the UK
After pleading guilty at Lewes Crown Court on February 2 last year, he was sentenced to six years behind bars in January.
He was arrested at the scene, but pretended to fall unconscious and had to be taken to a police vehicle and into custody – before his collapse was proven to be simulated.
It was reported in June that a man was arrested after a nine-year-old boy was almost snatched off the street by a man who had been following him near Brighton Beach.
The incident happened at around 8.45am on June 13 near St Nicholas Rest Garden, just a few roads away from Brighton beach, police said.
A 39-year-old man from Brighton was arrested on suspicion of common assault and possession of a Class B drug.
Responding to the figures, Sussex Police chief Inspector Simon Marchant, of Brighton and Hove’s Neighbourhood Policing Team, told MailOnline: ‘Sussex Police dedicates significant resources to keeping the area safe, with officers conducting proactive patrols throughout the year, providing a visible presence and working to tackle offending.
‘This work includes having dedicated officers and Night Safety Marshals proactively patrolling hotspots, to identify vulnerability, with a particular focus on reducing violence against women and girls, dedicated beach patrols from officers and our partners, and a drone which operates along the beach to monitor harder to reach areas.’
He added: ‘Brighton and Hove is one of the UK’s most vibrant coastal destinations, attracting almost 12 million visitors a year to its extensive seafront, which stretches from Shoreham Power Station in the west to Brighton Marina in the east.
Reform Beach in Devon has a crime rate of 86.8 crimes per 1,000m² – the second highest in the country
‘This area includes not only the beaches themselves, but also the surrounding businesses, including bars, clubs, restaurants and other licensed premises.’
Councillor Jacob Taylor, deputy leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, said: ‘As a city which welcomes almost 12 million visitors a year – many attracted by our iconic seafront – we know how important it is that those visitors feel safe and welcome.
‘We have been working hard to tackle anti-social behaviour throughout the city and supporting Sussex Police in its wider efforts to reduce local levels of crime. We’re also collaborating with our tourism sector and other local businesses to make sure our seafront remains a thriving, vibrant area which people want to visit.
‘We’re proud of the progress which has been made and feedback we have received feedback from residents, visitors and local businesses tells us the work we have been doing is making a noticeable difference
‘Brighton beach remains one of the UK’s most popular destinations, recently being voted as the second-best beach in the UK for 2025 by Tripadvisor, and we are committed to making sure it stays that way.’
After Brighton, the coastline which includes Bexhill Beach, along the south-east coast, not far from Hastings, saw the second highest number of crimes – nearly 500 according to our analysis.
More than one-third (180), were violent crimes and around one-quarter (120) were some kind of theft, robbery or burglary.
The Coatham Sands, in Redcar, North Yorkshire, saw the third highest number of crimes (455), nearly half of which were violent or sexual offences.
