Crap Towns / Dawlish / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Dawlish?

There were 3.3 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Dawlish from April 2023 to March 2026, 42% lower than the typical town's 5.7. The most common were other outdoor fires, at 1.5. In 2025/26 it was 4.2, up from 1.9 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	1.9	5.2
2024/25	3.9	5.4
2025/26	4.2	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Other outdoor fires	1.5	1.5
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	1.4	1.7
Bins and rubbish set on fire	0.5	1.9

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Torquay	12.1 km	9.6
Kingsteignton	10.0 km	6.2
Newton Abbot	12.6 km	5.7
Paignton	19.7 km	4.3
Exeter	14.6 km	4.1
Dawlish	–	3.3
Exmouth	6.6 km	2.8
Teignmouth	4.3 km	2.5
Bovey Tracey	14.9 km	1.6
Budleigh Salterton	10.5 km	1.6
Sidmouth	19.8 km	1.0
The typical town	–	5.7