Crap Towns / Hastings / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Hastings?

There were 9.3 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Hastings from April 2023 to March 2026, 1.6 times the typical town's 5.7. The most common were other outdoor fires, at 4.2. In 2025/26 it was 8.2, down from 10.9 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	10.9	5.2
2024/25	8.7	5.4
2025/26	8.2	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Other outdoor fires	4.2	1.5
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	2.8	1.7
Bins and rubbish set on fire	2.4	1.9

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Eastbourne	21.7 km	9.5
Hastings	–	9.3
Stone Cross	19.8 km	8.1
Bexhill-on-Sea	8.7 km	7.3
Tenterden	24.1 km	4.8
Hailsham	21.6 km	4.7
Battle	7.7 km	4.2
Polegate	23.2 km	4.0
Littlestone-on-Sea	30.2 km	3.5
Lower Willingdon	23.3 km	2.6
Heathfield	24.0 km	2.0
The typical town	–	5.7