Crap Towns / Thatcham / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Thatcham?

There were 1.7 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Thatcham from April 2023 to March 2026, 70% lower than the typical town's 5.7. The most common were bins and rubbish set on fire, at 1.0. In 2025/26 it was 1.2, down from 1.5 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	1.5	5.2
2024/25	2.3	5.4
2025/26	1.2	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Bins and rubbish set on fire	1.0	1.9
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	0.4	1.7
Other outdoor fires	0.3	1.5

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Burghfield Common	12.9 km	5.9
Basingstoke	18.1 km	5.0
Tadley	8.6 km	3.5
Reading	20.7 km	2.3
Oakley	17.4 km	2.3
Newbury	4.7 km	1.8
Thatcham	–	1.7
Whitchurch	19.7 km	1.1
Shinfield	21.2 km	0.6
Spencers Wood and Three Mile Cross	19.8 km	0.4
Hungerford	18.6 km	0.3
The typical town	–	5.7