THE North-East is one of the safest places to live in the country, new crime figures have revealed.

Levels of serious crime in Northumbria, North Yorkshire and Durham police force areas are significantly lower than the national average.

Though violent crime rose by 0.1 per cent in Northumbria, it was still lower than the national rise of nine per cent.

Offences such as robbery, house burglary and car theft fell by higher levels in the force area than elsewhere in the country, according to figures released by the Home Office, which cover the period from April to June 2003.

Durham Constabulary recorded significant falls in offending, particularly violence and car crime, with the number of house burglaries, between April and September, dropping to a record low.

Assistant Chief Constable Gary Barnett said: "We have one of the lowest crime rates in the country and one of the best detection rates.

"We know some members of the communities across County Durham and Darlington harbour the perception that crime is rife when the reality is the opposite."

Nationally, statistics revealed gun crime was on the rise in the UK but in Durham there were only eleven incidents reported between April and September.

Robbery in North Yorkshire remained rare, with 107 offences committed during the quarter, and in Northumbria the robbery rate was down 20.9 per cent.

Crime figures for criminal damage in North Yorkshire rose from 3,349 last year to 3,472.

The Home Office said that a new system for recording crime, the National Crime Recording Standard, introduced a year ago, may have had an impact on the figures.

In Northumbria, the number of house burglaries fell by 6.2 per cent, compared with the national figure of four per cent.

Car theft fell by a further eight per cent, compared with the same months in 2002.

Northumbria Police Chief Constable Crispian Strachan said officers would continue to seek ways to improve.

He said: "We have not reached this position by being complacent. We work hard to establish meaningful relationships with other agencies, believe that community beat managers with local responsibility are the foundation of successful policing, and are continually seeking other ways who which to improve our level of service."

In North Yorkshire, there were 119 fewer house burglaries than the previous year, with 1,140 crimes being committed, though incidents of car crime rose slightly.

The force's Operation Delivery proved successful, with 1,000 extra arrests in its first month, many for burglary.