Crap Towns / Cheltenham / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Cheltenham?

There were 5.2 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Cheltenham from April 2023 to March 2026, 9% lower than the typical town's 5.7. The most common were other outdoor fires, at 2.2. In 2025/26 it was 7.2, up from 4.5 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	4.5	5.2
2024/25	4.0	5.4
2025/26	7.2	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Other outdoor fires	2.2	1.5
Bins and rubbish set on fire	1.7	1.9
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	1.3	1.7

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Gloucester	10.8 km	5.5
Cheltenham	–	5.2
Tewkesbury	11.3 km	4.3
Stroud	19.7 km	4.2
Quedgeley and Hardwicke	16.1 km	4.1
Brockworth	7.7 km	3.8
Bishop's Cleeve	5.7 km	2.5
Cirencester	22.1 km	2.2
Chalford	19.5 km	1.9
Stonehouse	21.9 km	1.7
Churchdown	7.7 km	1.6
The typical town	–	5.7