Violent crime has risen in Wiltshire over the last year, despite a fall in recorded offences.

Wiltshire Police recorded 9,344 incidents of violent crime in Wiltshire in the 12 months to June, according to the Office for National Statistics – a 3 per cent rise from the previous year.

At 18.7 crimes per 1,000 people, that was far lower than the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 29.5.

One of the main factors behind the increase in Wiltshire was the rise in stalking and harassment, which rose by 21 per cent, from 1,750 incidents to 2,125.

Offences of violence without injury were recorded 3,797 times, an increase of one per cent on the previous year, and violence with injury on 3,421 occasions, down by four per cent.

There was also one homicide – a category which includes murders and manslaughters. This was down by four on the previous 12 months

Changes in society while coronavirus restrictions were in place led to most types of crime plummeting nationally over the period – although drug offences rose by nearly a third during lockdown – the ONS said.

Overall, police recorded four per cent fewer crimes across England and Wales, with around 5.8m offences recorded in the year to June.

This excludes those recorded by Greater Manchester Police, whose data was compromised after the installation of new IT software.

The fall was driven by a reduction in crime between April and June when national lockdown restrictions were in place. Robberies saw the most noticeable drop during this period (47%), while theft offences fell by 43 per cent.

In contrast, drug crimes soared by 30 per cent over the three months, with offences rising from 44,064 in April to June 2019, to 57,132 this year.

Billy Gazard, from the ONS centre for crime and justice, said the drop in crime over the year could mainly be put down to changes during the coronavirus lockdown, but said police recording of drug offences 'increased sharply throughout the April to June period, reflecting proactive police activity as overall crime levels reduced'.

“There are indications that crime levels in June were moving back towards pre-lockdown levels,” he added.

The total number of offences in Wiltshire fell by 4 per cent, with police recording 24,871 crimes over the course of the year.

This puts the overall crime rate at 49.7 per 1,000 people, compared to a national average of 84.7.

Other crimes recorded in Wiltshire included; 840 sexual offences, a decrease of 14 per cent (7,932) theft offences, down 14 per cent (3,230) incidents of criminal damage and arson, down 13 per cent (873) drug offences, up 25 per cent (161) possession of weapons such as firearms or knives, down 18 per cent (1,909) public order offences, however, were up by 21 per cent.

John Apter, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: "Although crime fell during the pandemic the pressure on the police remained.

"Policing had to adapt to a situation unlike anything we had experienced before and continues to do so even as the national lockdown was lifted and crime returned to pre-lockdown levels.

"That pressure has increased with local lockdowns being rolled out and because of the additional challenges they bring to policing."