Crap Towns / Barnsley / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Barnsley?

There were 34.2 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Barnsley from April 2023 to March 2026, 6.0 times the typical town's 5.7. The most common were bins and rubbish set on fire, at 18.1. In 2025/26 it was 47.0, up from 28.3 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	28.3	5.2
2024/25	27.3	5.4
2025/26	47.0	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Bins and rubbish set on fire	18.1	1.9
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	12.1	1.7
Other outdoor fires	4.0	1.5

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Grimethorpe	6.0 km	66.3
Wombwell	5.8 km	47.4
Royston	4.5 km	42.5
Barnsley	–	34.2
Worsbrough	3.1 km	33.1
Cudworth and Shafton	4.5 km	30.2
Darfield	6.3 km	27.6
Hoyland	6.6 km	16.2
Dodworth	4.2 km	16.2
Darton	4.6 km	11.3
Barugh Green and Redbrook	3.5 km	4.9
The typical town	–	5.7