Crap Towns / Benson / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Benson?

There were 1.6 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Benson from April 2023 to March 2026, 72% lower than the typical town's 5.7. The most common were grass, woods and crops set on fire, at 1.3. In 2025/26 it was 3.8, up from 0.0 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	0.0	5.2
2024/25	1.0	5.4
2025/26	3.8	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	1.3	1.7
Other outdoor fires	0.3	1.5
Bins and rubbish set on fire	0.0	1.9

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Oxford	18.9 km	5.0
Haddenham	20.8 km	4.4
Didcot	10.3 km	3.8
Chinnor	15.9 km	3.6
Thame	16.6 km	2.8
Caversham	18.1 km	2.4
Abingdon-on-Thames	14.0 km	2.4
Wallingford	3.0 km	2.0
Benson	–	1.6
Henley-on-Thames	16.3 km	1.1
Sonning Common	13.7 km	0.6
The typical town	–	5.7