Eight towns and villages have been singled out as the worst in County Durham by a YouTuber whose videos have gone viral online - do you agree with his views?

The creator, who goes by the name 'TurdTowns' has uploaded videos from his travels across the UK where he ranks, critiques and evaluates lesser-known towns and villages.

His channel is described as exploring the most "obscure" places in the country, and each video involves a walk around the town listing its highlights and low points.

Other areas which have already been on the chopping block are Essex, Wales, Somerset and even Northumberland's neighbouring county, Cumbria. 

Now, in his latest visit back to the North East, he has focused on County Durham - with his latest upload detailing a list of "Durham dumps".

Eight have made the list - do you think he's right?

Bishop Auckland

Coming in eighth place was Bishop Auckland - home to the "very ugly" Auckland Tower according to the creator who compared its look to "an electric shaver with cat hair".

With a population of under 25,000, the town was noted to have appeal to tourists with its "pretty nice" museums and galleries with "very nice architecture".

However, upon taking a walk down Bondgate, the creator went on to list the number of derelict shops he counted and deemed it as somewhere you would "get mugged".

Bishop Auckland.Bishop Auckland.

Shildon

Not quite in last place is Shildon - the home of train museum and attraction Locomotion.

TurdTowns claims that he believed he thought he would be walking in to a "warzone" due to the town's crime rate but said he felt "safe".

He added: "They have spent money here and what they have done is tasteful."

However, what let Shildon down for the creator is he claims there was not a "single shop", thinking that "this can't be it".

Shildon.Shildon.

Hartlepool

Heading over to the coast next is Hartlepool - with the creator stating that "some of the town actually looks alright".

Taking a walk about the town, he claimed "it smells like a concoction of raw sewage, salt and a brewery"

It is "such a dump", he concluded.

Hartlepool welcoming the Tall Ships race.Hartlepool welcoming the Tall Ships race. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Easington Colliery

Easington Colliery is "pretty bleak", according to TurdTowns who provided a pretty bleak assessment of the former pit village.

Despite it being known as the set of blockbuster Billy Elliott, the creator claims "there is nothing easy about living in Easington" and they don't have much to dance about.

Another factor he picked up on was empty homes, claiming that there is an abundance in the village.

Easington Colliery.Easington Colliery.

Peterlee

Peterlee was next on the list, and is described as a "bunker of smashed up shops with a derelict tower block on either side of the shopping centre".

The town "feels pointless", said TurdTowns, who honed in on Castle Dene Shopping Centre claiming that "what is left of the shopping centre is grey, grey, and more grey".

"It's got nothing going for it", he concluded.

(Image: GOOGLE MAPS)

Wheatley Hill

In third place is Wheatley Hill, which the creator says "is trash and it smells like it too".

Taking a walk about the town, the creator focused on empty homes once again, claiming that he was "annoyed" at the number he had spotted across the whole county.

He then went on to claim that "the place feels eerie and abandoned" whilst showing pictures of boarded up and vandalised homes.

Wheatley Hill.Wheatley Hill. (Image: GOOGLE MAPS)

Horden

Horden is a town which has featured prominently in news outlets as one of the most deprived towns in the entirety of the North East - not just County Durham.

Despite its redeeming features including St Marys church, the creator dubbed the whole town "a run down mess".

He claimed that homes are empty because "nobody in their right minds would want to live here", pointing out the painted doors and windows on some homes to give it the appearance of occupancy.

Avoid Horden "like the plague", he concluded.

Horden.Horden. (Image: Northern Echo)


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Eldon Lane

Coming in on the top spot is Eldon Lane which can be found just north of Bishop Auckland.

Delving in, TurdTowns warned his viewers that "this place is going to shock you".

Panning across boarded up and abandoned properties, he confessed: "I have never seen anywhere this bad."

He went on to compare the area to a Victorian slum, and claimed it is "the most dreary, depressing hell hole I've ever visited".

Eldon Lane.Eldon Lane. (Image: GOOGLE MAPS)