THE number of arsons in Bradford involving rubbish, bins and open land has risen in the past year.

Although the number of “primary fires,” involving houses and other buildings, fell from 525 to 460, the number of “secondary fires” rose by over 200.

And senior fire fighters say the increase in fly tipping in the district could be to blame.

Secondary fires, often referred to as nuisance fires, and can include bonfires and wheelie bins being set on fire.

In the 12 months leading up to April 2018, the number of such fires rose to 1,683, compared to 1,411 the previous year.

It means that in Bradford West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service missed its targets for arson in Bradford by 18 per cent this past year.

The figures were discussed by West Yorkshire Fire Authority’s Community Safety Committee yesterday. A report to the committee said that arson was up across West Yorkshire, with an overall rise from 6, 246 incidents to 6,712.

It said: “One potential factor to consider in the increase in secondary arson incidents is the correlation to the increase in fly tipping recorded by many Local Authorities. Working with partners is one way to best address anti-social behaviour type incidents such as setting fire to wheelie bins and rubbish but we are also planning to deliver a training module to all staff on arson reduction.”

At the meeting Area Manager Chris Kirby said: “People tend to think of all arsons as involving a building. In fact around 70 per cent are secondary fires like grass fires or wheelie bins. A lot of these types of fire relate to periods like the school holidays. We have noticed there has been a correlation between the number of fly tipping incidents that a local authority is experiencing. I think across the country this is linked to the fact that local authorities have reduced bin collections. That does have an impact on the number of fly tipping incidents.”

However, the yearly figures also have some positive trends for Bradford. In the last year the number of house fires in the district dropped from 312 to 285. It marked the first time the figure has fallen below 300. The report said: “This is a fantastic achievement and is testament to the dedicated and focussed prevention work carried out by all staff in our District.”

The number of non domestic building fires fell by 13 to 100.