VIOLENT crime is on the increase in Gwent - with Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly among the worst areas in Britain.

Gwent Police area suffered a 3.1 per cent rise in crimes of violence against people - the highest increase of any Welsh force, figures released today show.

In Blaenau Gwent, the latest Home Office figures show violent crime affecting more than 30 people per 1,000 of the population.

In England and Wales, only the boroughs of Hackney, Islington, Newham, South-wark and the notorious Tow-er Hamlets match Blaenau Gwent for violence.

In Caerphilly, the violent crime rate is 25 per 1,000 of the population, putting the area on a par with Man-chester.

Blaenau Gwent AM Peter Law said: "It would be totally wrong for people to get the impression that Blaenau Gwent is an unruly, violent area - it is not. By comparison with many places, whatever the statistics say, we still have many of the traditional values in the community.

"Obviously, in a very deprived area there are all sorts of tensions but I have not noticed any greater violence in Blaenau Gwent than there would be in other areas."

Gwent Police deputy chief constable Bryan Davies said the figures actually reflected the efficiency and effectiveness of his officers.

"We have a no-nonsense approach," he told the Argus. "We take troublemakers off the streets before they can commit serious crime.

He said that arrests for public order offences, such as verbal abuse and harassment, were counted as violent crimes by the Home Office. Incidents of serious violent crime, such as kidnap and causing grievous bodily harm, were continuing to decline in Gwent. In the 12 months to March this year, overall recorded crime in Wales fell by 6.7 per cent. In Gwent, the fall was slightly worse than average at 5.7 per cent.

In Wales, crimes of violence remained steady, rising by just half of one per cent. The figure for England and Wales overall was a rise of 3.4 per cent.

In Gwent, the number of violent crimes increased to 14,198, compared with 13,774 in the 12 months to March 2000.

The figures show that Gwent suffered a sharp rise in robberies - up 13 per cent on the previous year at 244.

Mr Davies puts this down to one particularly active gang of teenagers, now caught and charged, who stole mobile phones. Blaenau Gwent MP Llew Smith welcomed the fact that, overall, recorded crime in Gwent fell by 5.7 per cent, saying the average fall in England and Wales was 2.5 per cent. He said: "Obviously there are problems as far as violent crime is concerned, not just in Blaenau Gwent but throughout England and Wales."

He said it was interesting that levels of violent crime were also high in Caerphilly, and said work had to be done to understand why the figure was higher in some communities.