Crime has increased year-on-year in the Cotswolds, according to the latest police figures.

There were 3,805 reported offences during 2019, data from the Office for National Statistics shows.

That's up by 13 percent on the previous year, when 3,358 incidents were recorded.

That means there was a rate of 43 crimes per 1,000 residents during 2019, below the England and Wales average of 89.

The statistics are based on crimes reported to the police, and the ONS urges caution in interpreting some of these figures.

Separate figures are also collected from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, which asks people about their experiences of crime, and which the ONS says can provide a better picture of some offences.

Joe Traynor, from the ONS Centre for Crime and Justice, said: "Information collected prior to the coronavirus pandemic from the Crime Survey for England and Wales estimates a fall of 5 percent in crime for 2019.

"It is not possible to say whether this would have come to represent a change from the flat trend in recent years, as it is likely that the current lockdown will have an impact on the level of crime in 2020.

“The 2019 data revealed different patterns for specific types of crime, for instance, robbery increased but burglary decreased, while fraud and lower-harm violent offences remained stable.

"Although the number of homicides where a knife or sharp instrument was used fell across the country, it increased in London.”

Possession of weapons offences in the Cotswolds rose by 17 to 25 incidents. These include knives, hand guns and even corrosive acid.

There were 330 residential burglaries reported in 2019, down by 17 percent compared to the previous year.

There have been no homicides, which are murders or manslaughters..

In the Cotswolds, theft, one of the most high volume crimes, decreased by 3 percent. Drugs related offences also dropped by 5 percent.

The National Police Chiefs' Council said there had been a substantial decrease in certain crimes such as residential burglaries and shoplifting since the coronavirus lockdown was enforced, but recognised there may be an increase in other forms of crime like domestic abuse.

NPCC lead for crime, chief constable Andy Cooke, said: "While it is highly unlikely that you will be a victim of violent crime, tackling violence continues to be a police priority and the use of tactics such as targeted stop and search has led to an increase in the recording of knife and blade possession offences by 11 percent during this period.

"We are clearly in a very different place since the coronavirus outbreak however, with provisional data from police forces showing a reduction in crime by around 28 percent compared to the same period in 2019.

"Our day-to-day service is not being impacted and people should keep reporting crime to us – our teams will work round the clock to keep the public safe and respond to emergencies."

Criminal damage in the Cotswolds, which includes arson and vandalising cars and houses, has gone up, from 433 incidents in 2018, to 509 in the latest figures.

While violence with injury, which includes assault, GBH and wounding, has risen, this could be due to improved police recording.

Similarly sexual offences are hard to judge as many more victims are now coming forward due to a series of high profile cases.

In the Cotswolds, there were 99 incidents recorded last year, a 3 percent rise on the previous year, when 96 crimes were reported.

There were also 274 cases of stalking and harassment reported over the same period.