POLICE are urging the public not to take the latest crime figures for Wensleydale at face value.

Statistics produced for the next meeting of the Western Area Community and Police Group suggest an alarming increase in burglaries, violent crime and car crime in Leyburn.

In the year to March, the town has seen respective increases of 125 per cent, 67 per cent and 96 per cent.

However, police said there are so few incidents are such that a small increase can appear significant when expressed as a percentage.

Sergeant Mick Rookes said new systems for recording crime introduced by the Home Office also gave a different perspective.

"It used to be that, if someone broke into 20 vans on a caravan site, it would be recorded as one incident,'' he said. "Now, each one is recorded as a separate crime, which has obviously given the impression crime is on the increase.

"Of course, there is no room for complacency, but neither is there a need for an increase in the fear of crime.''