Southend in Essex's worst places, says YouTuber Turdtowns

A video outlining the “worst places in Essex” posted by YouTuber Turdtowns has amassed nearly 300,000 views.

Turdtowns has gained more than 57,000 subscribers since joining the video-sharing platform in 2022, with his videos which cover “the most obscure places in the UK” being watched more than six million times.

“Essex is one of the most famous counties I’ve covered in a while,” he says.

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“It’s famous for people who love to tan and love to dress up. It’s glamorous – at least I thought that. I’d never been here before.

“Turns out the places I visited were the complete opposite of glamorous.”

Here’s the seven worst places in Essex according to Turdtowns

7. Southend

The YouTuber ranked Southend as the seventh worst place in Essex after admitting he walked into the seaside city “expecting the worst” but “came out pleasantly surprised”.

He described the resort as “bustling” with “big shops everywhere” and praised its pier but called the city’s tourist hotspots “grimy and full of strange people”.

“It’s a nice city and there’s a lot going for it but its social problems need to be looked at,” he said. “The infrastructure’s there, now look out for the people.”

Turdtowns praised Southend Pier (Image: Simon Murdoch)

6. Grays

The sixth area on Turdtowns’ list, Grays, was dubbed a “strange place with a strange name filled with strange people”.

“Whichever direction you look in, Grays makes you feel depressed,” he said. “There really isn’t much to be happy about here.”

5. Clacton

Turdtowns headed to the north of the county to visit Clacton, which he compared to Weston-super-Mare and ranked as the fifth worst area in Essex.

Despite commenting on the town’s “smashed up Victorian bedsits and closed down shops”, his feedback wasn’t entirely negative.

“This is exactly the sort of place they should be investing in,” he said. “It’s not a write-off, although it may feel like one right now.”

Turdtowns visited Clacton in north Essex

4. Harlow

Harlow, a “bland and soulless” town, finished fourth on Turdtowns’ list of the worst places in Essex.

He said its residents could’ve been “plague rats” in a previous life.

3. Basildon

It was back down south to visit his third worst-ranking place in Essex – Basildon.

Turdtowns described the town as “a humongous council estate with a ring road and a shopping area right in the middle 30 miles east of London”.

“There is no history, nothing cool, or even remotely interesting,” he said.

Basildon was the third worst area of Essex in Turdtowns' video

2. Jaywick

Jaywick, a seaside village near Clacton, finished in second place.

“I bet you were expecting this to be number one,” Turdtowns said. “Well, you’re wrong.”

Despite calling the village a “hellhole” and saying it was “unbelievable people used to holiday there”, he admitted he didn’t feel unsafe walking around Jaywick.

Jaywick is a seaside village near Clacton

1. Tilbury

Tilbury was named as the worst place in Essex in Turdtowns’ video.

He called the town “depressing” and “the most unsafe feeling place I’ve ever visited”.

“The whole town feels unwelcoming and has an air of violence to it like something out of the Wild West,” he said.