Crap Towns / Brighton and Hove / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Brighton and Hove?

There were 5.2 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Brighton and Hove from April 2023 to March 2026, 9% lower than the typical town's 5.7. The most common were other outdoor fires, at 2.3. In 2025/26 it was 5.3, up from 4.9 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	4.9	5.2
2024/25	5.4	5.4
2025/26	5.3	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Other outdoor fires	2.3	1.5
Bins and rubbish set on fire	1.8	1.9
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	1.1	1.7

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Newhaven	12.4 km	10.3
Lewes	8.6 km	8.1
Brighton and Hove	–	5.2
Peacehaven	9.4 km	4.9
Southwick	9.0 km	4.4
Lancing and Sompting	15.5 km	3.7
Burgess Hill	13.0 km	3.3
Hassocks and Hurstpierpoint	11.3 km	2.8
Shoreham-by-Sea	11.4 km	2.4
Henfield	15.5 km	2.4
Steyning	16.4 km	2.1
The typical town	–	5.7