Crap Towns / Ely / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Ely?

There were 1.2 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Ely from April 2023 to March 2026, 79% lower than the typical town's 5.7. The most common were other outdoor fires, at 0.6. In 2025/26 it was 0.9, down from 1.2 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	1.2	5.2
2024/25	1.6	5.4
2025/26	0.9	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Other outdoor fires	0.6	1.5
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	0.4	1.7
Bins and rubbish set on fire	0.2	1.9

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Mildenhall	17.8 km	9.5
Cottenham	15.8 km	6.6
Histon and Impington	19.4 km	5.2
Littleport	6.9 km	4.5
Burwell	14.3 km	3.4
Longstanton and Northstowe	19.1 km	3.0
Chatteris	15.6 km	2.9
Soham	9.1 km	2.8
Red Lodge	19.1 km	2.1
Waterbeach	15.0 km	1.5
Ely	–	1.2
The typical town	–	5.7