Crap Towns / Leeds / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Leeds?

There were 23.6 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Leeds from April 2023 to March 2026, 4.1 times the typical town's 5.7. The most common were bins and rubbish set on fire, at 13.1. In 2025/26 it was 26.4, up from 21.1 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	21.1	5.2
2024/25	23.3	5.4
2025/26	26.4	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Bins and rubbish set on fire	13.1	1.9
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	6.6	1.7
Other outdoor fires	3.8	1.5

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Leeds	–	23.6
Batley	11.3 km	19.3
Rothwell	7.3 km	17.1
Gomersal and Birkenshaw	11.0 km	16.8
East Ardsley	9.0 km	16.4
Morley	7.5 km	14.0
Pudsey	8.1 km	13.3
Yeadon	10.2 km	10.8
Gildersome	7.7 km	10.6
Drighlington	9.1 km	6.9
Rawdon	9.2 km	2.5
The typical town	–	5.7