Crap Towns / St Helens / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in St Helens?

There were 34.2 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in St Helens from April 2023 to March 2026, 6.0 times the typical town's 5.7. The most common were bins and rubbish set on fire, at 20.2. In 2025/26 it was 29.6, down from 34.3 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	34.3	5.2
2024/25	38.6	5.4
2025/26	29.6	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Bins and rubbish set on fire	20.2	1.9
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	7.7	1.7
Other outdoor fires	6.3	1.5

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
St Helens	–	34.2
Kirkby	10.2 km	25.0
Haydock	5.0 km	23.6
Huyton with Roby	8.5 km	22.3
Widnes	8.5 km	17.0
Prescot	4.7 km	16.3
Newton-le-Willows	7.1 km	11.0
Golborne	11.0 km	10.4
Rainford	7.1 km	9.2
Ashton-in-Makerfield	8.2 km	6.3
Orrell	9.7 km	4.5
The typical town	–	5.7