THE safest county in England is North Yorkshire, according to Home Office figures.

In the first three months of the year, North Yorkshire had the lowest crime rate in the country, with 16.19 crimes per 1,000 residents, against a national average of 22.42, according to statistics sent to police forces.

The acting chief constable praised his officers and staff as well as residents and agencies which help to tackle crime.

The Home Office analysis has not yet been made public, but some police forces yesterday disclosed the statistics from their areas.

Northumbria, where crime dropped by 2.2 per cent in the past year, saw 21.34 crimes per 1,000 residents between January and March.

Chief Constable Mike Craik said: "The continuing fall in crime is a significant achievement for our force and the area remains one of the safest places to live, work and visit."

The Cleveland force area recorded 17,176 crimes in the first quarter, a rate of 32.2 per 1,000 residents.

Crime rates per 1,000 population were not available from Durham Police, but the force reported a one per cent rise in crime, to 53,829 incidents, in the year to March.

Yesterday's figures followed a cut in crime in North Yorkshire for the third year running, with burglary, vehicle crime, violent incidents and sexual offences all down.

Acting Chief Constable Peter Bagshaw said: "This confirms what we all know, that North Yorkshire is a very safe place in which to live and work, and one in which the police service receives strong support from the community.

"Officers and staff are doing an excellent job in driving down crime, but they could not do it without a partnership with other agencies and, most of all, with the practical support of the people we serve."

Mr Bagshaw said that North Yorkshire was consistently very near or at the top of the Home Office safety league tables.