A new method of recording crime in Richmondshire is responsible for an apparent huge rise in incidents.

Police said that there appeared to have been a 46 per cent increase in crime in the rural area was down to new Home Office counting rules.

Sgt Mick Rookes told the Richmondshire North parish forum: "Before, if, say, a caravan business was broken into and miscreants damaged or stole from 20 caravans on the same night, then that was recorded as one crime," "It is now counted as 20 crimes and, instantly, overnight, the crime figures go through the roof."

This was the first year under the new counting system and it would take until next year to begin comparing figures properly.

Sgt Rookes told the Gilling West meeting that teething troubles continued at the two call centres which replaced control rooms at Richmond, Northallerton, Skipton, Harrogate, York, Scarborough and Filey.

More staff were being recruited for the new centres at Northallerton and York to tackle the particularly busy times in the early evening, when members of the public reported serious problems getting through.

Richmondshire district councillor Helen Grant said she had waited 33 minutes for a call to be answered.

Sgt Rookes urged people to report crimes the minute they witnessed them. Officers had recently caught a car thief following a 2am call from a resident of Middleton Tyas and, as a result, also cleared up seven burglaries, returning the stolen items to their owners.

"It is no good calling the police at 10 o'clock the following morning after you've seen someone suspicious in the middle of the night," he said.