Crap Towns / Bedford / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Bedford?

There were 5.6 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Bedford from April 2023 to March 2026, about the same as the typical town's 5.7. The most common were other outdoor fires, at 2.4. In 2025/26 it was 7.9, up from 4.5 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	4.5	5.2
2024/25	4.3	5.4
2025/26	7.9	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Other outdoor fires	2.4	1.5
Bins and rubbish set on fire	1.6	1.9
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	1.5	1.7

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Wixams	5.8 km	15.4
Kempston	3.6 km	9.4
Wootton	7.0 km	7.5
Sandy	11.4 km	5.8
Bedford	–	5.6
Cranfield	13.0 km	4.7
Biggleswade	15.4 km	4.0
Shefford	14.4 km	3.5
Flitwick	15.2 km	3.4
Ampthill	13.0 km	2.9
Marston Moretaine	10.1 km	2.5
The typical town	–	5.7