Crime rate in Burnley well above the national average as figures show significant increase

There were 818 household break-ins in the 12 months to September 2018, data from the Office for National Statistics shows.

This means that nine out of every 1,000 people in Burnley reported a burglary, one of the highest rates in England and Wales.

The statistics are based on crimes recorded by the police, and the ONS urges caution in interpreting some of these figures. Statisticians said burglary has reduced nationally.

Helen Ross, from the ONS Centre for Crime and Justice, said: "In recent decades we've seen the overall level of crime falling, but in the last year, it remained level.

"Burglary, shoplifting and computer misuse are decreasing but others, such as vehicle offences and robbery are rising.

"We have also seen increases in some types of 'lower-volume, high-harm' violence including offences involving knives or sharp instruments."

Overall, police recorded crime in Burnley increased significantly in the 12 months to September 2018.

Over the period, 12,429 crimes were recorded, up by 27% on 2016-17.

That means there is a crime for at least one in every 10 residents in Burnley, well above average for England and Wales.

Gun and knife possession offences in Burnley rose by four to 41 incidents.

There have been no homicides, which are murders or manslaughters.

Across England and Wales, the number of recorded homicides rose by 14%, to the highest level since 2008. These figures excluded people who died in terror attacks.

In Burnley, theft, one of the most high volume crimes, increased by 10%. Drugs related offences rose by 7%.

Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said: "These statistics show that your chance of being a victim of crime remains low, but we recognise that certain crimes - particularly violent crime - have increased, and we are taking action to address this."

Criminal damage in Burnley, which includes arson and vandalising cars and houses, has gone up, from 1,542 incidents in 2016-17, to 1,700 in the latest figures.

While violence with injury, which includes assault, GBH and wounding, has risen, this could be due to improved police recording.

Similarly sexual offences are hard to judge as many more victims are now coming forward due to a series of high profile cases.

In Burnley, there were 370 incidents recorded between October 2017 and September 2018, a 56% rise on the previous year, when 238 crimes were reported.

There were also 1,227 cases of stalking and harassment reported over the same period.