Overall crime lowest for 10 years

Overall crime in the West Mercia Police area has reached its lowest level for 10 years, the force said.

Recorded crime fell by 3% marking a reduction in 2,611 offences in the area compared to last year, the annual crime figures for England and Wales show.

It meant "significantly fewer victims" across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, a spokeswoman for the force said.

However, robbery and domestic burglary figures were higher than last year.

The annual figures showed that 77,443 crimes were recorded in the force area between April 2008 to the end of March 2009.

More burglaries

Robbery offences rose 6% last year, which meant an increase of 30 robberies, the force said.

The number of robberies has fallen by 17% over the past six years, the spokeswoman added.

There were also 214 more domestic burglaries in the force's area in 2008/9 than in the previous year, the Home Office figures showed.

The annual figures also showed that violent crime was down by 6% in the force area compared to last year.

Across England and Wales, the number of murders and manslaughters dropped by 17% to a 20-year low of 648, the figures showed.

There were 136 fewer killings in 2008/9 compared with a year earlier, according to the Home Office figures.