Crap Towns / Whitby / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Whitby?

There were 8.5 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Whitby from April 2023 to March 2026, 49% higher than the typical town's 5.7. The most common were other outdoor fires, at 4.1. In 2025/26 it was 8.4, up from 8.0 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	8.0	5.2
2024/25	9.2	5.4
2025/26	8.4	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Other outdoor fires	4.1	1.5
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	2.8	1.7
Bins and rubbish set on fire	1.7	1.9

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Eston	35.8 km	161
Redcar	32.8 km	73.6
Skelton	24.8 km	51.1
Guisborough	28.8 km	35.8
Brotton	23.0 km	34.6
Saltburn-by-the-Sea	25.9 km	32.4
Marske-by-the-Sea	29.0 km	31.3
Scarborough	28.4 km	10.7
Whitby	–	8.5
Pickering	28.0 km	4.1
Filey	36.6 km	3.5
The typical town	–	5.7