Spike in deliberate fires reported across Ayrshire

More than 300 targeted blazes represents rise of almost 50 per cent

- STEPHEN BARK

Deliberate fires across Ayrshire have increased by almost 50 per cent in 2025.

Figures released under Freedom of Information laws by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have revealed there were 824 deliberate fires set across the county in the first seven months of the year.

A series of high-profile incidents this year have included the King Street fire in Kilmarnock, fires at the former Auchinleck Academy and Greenmill Primary buildings and wildfires on Arran and in the Doon Valley.

If current trends continue, that would represent a staggering 46 per cent increase in deliberate fires year-on-year without factoring in Bonfire Night - the fire service's busiest night of the year.

Most deliberate fires have come in East Ayrshire after 363 were recorded in the first seven months of the year - just 24 shy of the total for 2024.

South Ayrshire was also close to eclipsing the total for 2024 in the first seven months of the year after 183 deliberate fires were recorded - 10 less than 2024.