More sexual offences were recorded in South Worcester over the last year, despite an overall drop in recorded crime.

West Mercia Police recorded 818 incidents of sexual offences in South Worcester, defined as Malvern Hills, Wychavon and parts of Worcester, in the 12 months to June, according to the Office for National Statistics.

That was an increase of 10% compared to the previous year.

At 2.6 crimes per 1,000 people, that was in line with the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 2.8.

Around 5.8 million offences were recorded across England and Wales in the year to June – in line with the previous year – though there was a 3% decrease to 4.9 million offences when excluding fraud and computer misuse.

Nick Stripe, head of crime statistics at the ONS, said the figures showed overall reductions in the reporting and recording of many crime types during periods of lockdown.

However, reports of fraud and hacking continued to rise – something the ONS previously suggested was due to criminals taking advantage of behavioural changes during the pandemic, while many took to online shopping amid lockdowns when there were restrictions on movement.

The total number of offences in South Worcestershire fell by 10%, with police recording 18,809 crimes over the course of the year.

This puts the overall crime rate at 60.5 per 1,000 people, compared to a national average of 81.3.

Other crimes recorded in South Worcester included:

7,757 violent offences, a decrease of 6%5,346 theft offences, down 21%2,028 incidents of criminal damage and arson, down 14%194 possession of weapons such as firearms or knives, up 4%1,518 public order offences, up 3%

The ONS figures show 61,158 rapes were recorded across England and Wales in the 12 months to June – the highest recorded annual figure to date, and up by 10% from 55,779 the year before.

The second-highest number of sexual offences was also recorded over the period (164,763) – an 8% increase on the previous year.

The ONS urged caution when interpreting the data.

Mr Stripe added: “The rise could be due to an increase in victim reporting as lockdowns eased, an increase in the number of victims, or to an increase in victims’ willingness to report incidents, potentially as a result of high-profile cases and campaigns in recent times.”

Jeffrey DeMarco, assistant director at the charity Victim Support, said: “Much more needs to be done urgently to tackle both these offences and to ensure that those who come forward and report them are able to access justice.”