FIGURES reveal that anti-social behaviour and violent and sexual offences are the most commonly reported crimes in the Ledbury area, raising concerns over policing in the market town.

Statistics from West Mercia Police show that the two crime categories are consistent in being the only two categories reported well into double figures, month in and month out: with the majority of all crimes being reported from Ledbury town centre itself.

The figures have raised concerns from local residents, posting on the Ledbury Reporter and Voice of Ledbury web sites, with some local people believing they only show part of the problem.

Tina Mitchell said: "These statistics are only a small proportion, they do not reflect reality; the figures would be much much higher if everyone had enough faith in the police to report incident. Sad times."

And Grant Hathaway added: "Police presence is non-existent in the town. It's almost as if they can't be bothered with the petty crime of the town or do any investigative work.

"Ledbury is a haven for thieves and vandals because they know there is no police presence therefore they're free to do what they want, when they want. I'm certain that the statistics don't reflect the reality of the crime levels. People have no or little faith in the police so probably don't even bother to report crimes any more."

Other residents are happier with policing levels in the town.

Tammy Redding said: "The Community Support Officers are always out every single day; they attend the youth club every Wednesday. I can't speak for the wider area of Ledbury but I live right in town centre and always see them around.

"I feel safe in Ledbury so do my children."

The figures show that reports of anti-social behaviour in Ledbury have been rising in recent months, with 28 reports in January; 26 in December and 22 in November.

And despite the Ledbury Safer Neighbourhood Team covering a large area, almost to the borders of Bromyard to the north and Bromsberrow in the south, the majority of all crimes reported come from Ledbury itself - with 43 out of 83 reported in January coming from within the town's traditional boundaries.

Violence and sexual offences is the only other category to consistently reach double figures: with 12 offences reported in January; 20 in December, and 35 in November.

Similar police statistics for Ledbury were recorded in other months in 2017.

In April 2017, there were 28 for anti-social behaviour and 14 reports of violence and sexual offences.

In August 2017, there were 41 reports of anti-social behaviour and 12 for violence and sexual offences.

In December 2016, there were 35 cases of anti-social behaviour and 19 for violence and sexual offences.

Similar figures have been posted for Ross on Wye, a Herefordshire town of a similar size to Ledbury.

Herefordshire SNT Inspector James Ashton said: "Ledbury is, by some significant margin, the largest conurbation in the Safer Neighbourhood Team area and the fact the vast majority of anti-social behaviour incidents are focused there is entirely in line with my expectations and is reflected across similar policing areas.

"While residents of Ledbury enjoy very low levels of crime and anti-social behaviour, the frequency of this does change with seasonal factors and the recent variance is within normal parameters.

"Increased crime recording is not always to be seen as a sign of concern. In terms of violent crime and sexual offences, this is a particularly broad set of data collected by the Home Office and includes a vast array of crimes from murder and rape to malicious communications and 'sexting'. A single report may encompass several events and require numerous crime records.

"I am confident the figures and variance for Ledbury or Ross-on-Wye is not unusual or cause for alarm."