Crap Towns / Houghton-le-Spring / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Houghton-le-Spring?

There were 61.0 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Houghton-le-Spring from April 2023 to March 2026, 10.7 times the typical town's 5.7. The most common were bins and rubbish set on fire, at 39.1. In 2025/26 it was 63.6, up from 51.3 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	51.3	5.2
2024/25	68.2	5.4
2025/26	63.6	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Bins and rubbish set on fire	39.1	1.9
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	17.1	1.7
Other outdoor fires	4.8	1.5

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Murton	6.5 km	76.5
Hetton-le-Hole	2.7 km	71.2
Houghton-le-Spring	–	61.0
Seaham	7.9 km	57.2
Sunderland	8.3 km	47.0
Shiney Row and Penshaw	3.1 km	42.1
Washington	7.7 km	39.8
Fence Houses	1.7 km	35.9
Chester-le-Street	6.9 km	34.5
Pelton and Ouston	9.4 km	30.0
Durham	8.9 km	14.4
The typical town	–	5.7