Crap Towns / Cottenham / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Cottenham?

There were 6.6 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Cottenham from April 2023 to March 2026, 16% higher than the typical town's 5.7. The most common were other outdoor fires, at 3.6. In 2025/26 it was 6.8, up from 3.9 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	3.9	5.2
2024/25	9.1	5.4
2025/26	6.8	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Other outdoor fires	3.6	1.5
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	3.0	1.7
Bins and rubbish set on fire	0.0	1.9

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Cottenham	–	6.6
Histon and Impington	3.9 km	5.2
Burwell	14.0 km	3.4
Longstanton and Northstowe	4.3 km	3.0
Soham	15.8 km	2.8
Cambourne	15.1 km	2.7
Cambridge	9.0 km	2.3
Great Shelford and Stapleford	15.0 km	1.6
Waterbeach	4.6 km	1.5
Ely	15.8 km	1.2
St Ives	14.5 km	1.2
The typical town	–	5.7