CASES of theft and assault are down for the last year once again in Upton, according to new figures.

During 2014/15, there were 26 theft incidents and no cases of assault- assault is defined as involved parties not being known to each other.

This is in contrast to the year before, in which 34 cases of theft and 19 assaults were reported to the police. In 2012/13, 20 cases of assault and 44 theft incidents were reported.

Released by the Upton upon Severn Safer Neighbourhood Team, the figures show however that compared to last year there has been one extra case of burglary or attempted burglary, in which 11 have been reported.

Criminal damage was significantly up on last year's number of incidents. There were 17 cases of criminal damage this year, 10 more than last year.

The highest incident police received reports for during the last year was nuisance, with 34 cases reported to the police.

The nature of nuisance calls included youths not getting off buses, disturbances, loud traffic and youths setting off fireworks.

The second highest reports police received were based around suspicious circumstances.

There were 32 reports of suspicious circumstances made to the police which included drug dealing, people being seen in gardens and reports of fires.

To round off 2014/15 there were three cases of theft of vehicles, one case of making off without payment, two cases of motor vehicle interference, one case of robbery, five cases of shoplifting and seven theft from vehicles.

The previous year saw 569 incidents were reported to the police force.

Upton upon Severn Neighbourhood Team remained unavailable for comment, and Upton Town Council declined to comment on the figures.

The latest figures are welcome news for the town, with its festival season now in full swing.

Mike Ostick, of Upton Business Association, said: "Whilst the overall crime figures are really encouraging, we should not forget that in past months there have been vicious attacks on shops, and several shoplifting reports. "However we are encouraged by the increasing cooperation between the police and several local groups, targeted to further reduce crime incidents in the town.

"The public need to be aware that their help in providing information to the police, using Crimestoppers and other contacts, is essential in the fight against crime.

"Our four popular music festivals are generally very safe and crime free, and we welcome the thousands of visitors they bring to the town."