Crap Towns / Widnes / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Widnes?

There were 17.0 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Widnes from April 2023 to March 2026, 3.0 times the typical town's 5.7. The most common were bins and rubbish set on fire, at 10.0. In 2025/26 it was 16.1, down from 21.6 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical town
2023/24	21.6	5.2
2024/25	13.2	5.4
2025/26	16.1	6.4

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical town
Bins and rubbish set on fire	10.0	1.9
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	4.7	1.7
Other outdoor fires	2.4	1.5

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
St Helens	8.5 km	34.2
Haydock	11.7 km	23.6
Huyton with Roby	9.5 km	22.3
Liverpool	13.2 km	20.0
Frodsham	9.0 km	19.0
Widnes	–	17.0
Prescot	6.3 km	16.3
Runcorn	5.6 km	15.3
Newton-le-Willows	11.4 km	11.0
Warrington	10.1 km	5.6
Helsby	11.5 km	0.6
The typical town	–	5.7