Crap Towns / Royal Wootton Bassett / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Royal Wootton Bassett?

There were 2.6 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Royal Wootton Bassett from April 2023 to March 2026, 54% lower than the typical town's 5.7. The most common were grass, woods and crops set on fire, at 1.6. In 2025/26 it was 2.3, down from 2.7 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	2.7	5.2
2024/25	2.8	5.4
2025/26	2.3	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	1.6	1.7
Bins and rubbish set on fire	0.5	1.9
Other outdoor fires	0.5	1.5

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Wroughton	7.6 km	7.7
Shrivenham and Watchfield	19.0 km	6.1
Swindon	7.6 km	3.3
Marlborough	17.8 km	3.0
Chippenham	18.3 km	2.9
Royal Wootton Bassett	–	2.6
Broad Blunsdon	10.6 km	2.0
Stratton St Margaret	11.6 km	1.9
Malmesbury	14.9 km	1.6
Calne	13.5 km	1.6
Highworth	16.2 km	1.6
The typical town	–	5.7