TORFAEN has one of the highest rates of burglary in England and Wales, according to the latest police figures.

There were 520 household break-ins in 2019, data from the Office for National Statistics shows.

This means that six out of every 1,000 people in Torfaen reported a burglary, one of the highest rates in England and Wales.

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Overall, police recorded crime in Torfaen slightly increased in 2019.

Over the period, 9,462 crimes were recorded, up by one per cent on 2018.

That means there is a crime for at least one in every 10 residents in Torfaen, well above the England and Wales average.

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.

Possession of weapons offences in Torfaen rose by four to 36 incidents. These include knives, hand guns and even corrosive acid.

There was one homicide, a murder or manslaughter.

In Torfaen, theft, one of the most high volume crimes, decreased by three per cent.

Drugs related offences rose by 16 per cent.

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 per cent 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 per cent compared to the same period in 2019."

Criminal damage in Torfaen, which includes arson and vandalising cars and houses, has gone down, from 1,443 incidents in 2018, to 1,334 in the latest figures.

Violence with injury crimes, which include assault, GBH (grievous bodily harm) and wounding, have dropped. Nationally, there has been a slight increase, however they are tough to judge as police recording in this area has improved in recent years.

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

In Torfaen, there were 296 incidents recorded last year, a 17 per cent rise on the previous year, when 252 crimes were reported.

There were also 1,384 cases of stalking and harassment reported over the same period.