Nottingham tops uni crime table

Nottingham is the most crime-ridden university city outside London, according to a new report.

The Good University Guide claims that figures compiled by the Home Office show students in Nottingham are most at risk from burglaries.

But Jonathan Ray from the University of Nottingham said the figures were flawed because, unlike other cities, only a small part of Nottingham was included.

The Good University Guide said figures were based on Home Office statistics.

Nottingham came top in burglary but had fewer incidents of violent attacks and robberies than cities such as Manchester or Leicester. The high number of burglaries, 21.2 per thousand population, pushes Nottingham to the top of the table.

Narrow view

Dr Bernard Kingston, who compiled the league table for the guide, said: "I spoke to the Home Office and asked what three crimes I should home in on and they said burglary, violence and robbery.

"Those are their recommendations and that's where Nottingham comes. The Home Office is now aware of the Nottingham situation, I brought it to their attention a few weeks ago and have not heard back with any recommendations that I should be doing anything differently."

But Mr Ray said people should look at the wider picture. "If you're going to refer to Manchester, Sheffield or Leeds that's fair enough if you're going to look at the whole metropolitan area.

"If you refer to Nottingham, you have to understand that the boundary for the city is very tightly drawn. By not including Broxtowe which has Beeston in it, which is where many university students live, you're not really getting an accurate picture."

The study looked at the incidents of burglary, violence and robbery over three years in university cities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.