Crap Towns / Darlington / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Darlington?

There were 38.3 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Darlington from April 2023 to March 2026, 6.7 times the typical town's 5.7. The most common were bins and rubbish set on fire, at 24.4. In 2025/26 it was 47.1, up from 37.2 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	37.2	5.2
2024/25	30.7	5.4
2025/26	47.1	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Bins and rubbish set on fire	24.4	1.9
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	10.8	1.7
Other outdoor fires	3.2	1.5

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Bishop Auckland	16.3 km	60.7
Stockton-on-Tees	15.6 km	54.4
Thornaby-on-Tees	17.3 km	52.0
Shildon	12.8 km	46.9
Darlington	–	38.3
Ferryhill	17.4 km	31.7
Newton Aycliffe	10.3 km	25.7
Ingleby Barwick	15.5 km	10.0
Yarm	13.7 km	6.8
Egglescliffe	12.9 km	5.0
Richmond	18.1 km	4.1
The typical town	–	5.7