Crap Towns / Basildon / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Basildon?

There were 11.0 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Basildon from April 2023 to March 2026, 1.9 times the typical town's 5.7. The most common were other outdoor fires, at 4.3. In 2025/26 it was 14.1, up from 8.3 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	8.3	5.2
2024/25	10.7	5.4
2025/26	14.1	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Other outdoor fires	4.3	1.5
Bins and rubbish set on fire	3.5	1.9
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	3.3	1.7

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Chadwell St Mary	10.9 km	23.9
Basildon	–	11.0
East Tilbury	10.0 km	9.7
Canvey Island	11.1 km	8.7
Wickford	6.9 km	6.2
Runwell	8.5 km	5.2
Stanford-le-Hope	5.8 km	4.4
Thundersley and South Benfleet	9.4 km	4.3
Rayleigh	11.2 km	3.1
Brentwood	11.3 km	1.9
Billericay	6.5 km	1.6
The typical town	–	5.7