Crap Towns / Sunderland / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Sunderland?

There were 47.0 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Sunderland from April 2023 to March 2026, 8.2 times the typical town's 5.7. The most common were bins and rubbish set on fire, at 31.3. In 2025/26 it was 45.3, down from 50.6 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	50.6	5.2
2024/25	45.0	5.4
2025/26	45.3	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Bins and rubbish set on fire	31.3	1.9
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	13.5	1.7
Other outdoor fires	2.2	1.5

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Houghton-le-Spring	8.3 km	61.0
Jarrow	8.6 km	59.4
Boldon Colliery	6.2 km	57.6
Seaham	8.4 km	57.2
East Boldon and West Boldon	5.1 km	48.2
Sunderland	–	47.0
South Shields	8.3 km	43.7
Shiney Row and Penshaw	6.4 km	42.1
Washington	6.8 km	39.8
Fence Houses	8.9 km	35.9
Whitburn	6.0 km	16.7
The typical town	–	5.7