Crime levels in South Worcestershire are down by almost a fifth, according to the latest figures.

There were 20,319 reported offences in the policing area which covers Worcester, Malvern and Evesham between July 2017 and June 2018, data from the Office for National Statistics shows.

That's down by 6% on the previous year, when 21,526 incidents were recorded.

That means there was a rate of 67 crimes per 1,000 residents during 2017-18, below the England and Wales average of 84.

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

Some offences go unreported while others may be more numerous due to a change in the focus of the police.

Joe Traynor, from the ONS Centre for Crime and Justice, said: "Over recent decades, we've seen continued falls in overall levels of crime but in the last year the trend has been more stable."

Despite nationally rising, gun and knife possession offences in South Worcester have dropped by 20, to 138 incidents.

There were 1,213 residential burglaries reported in 2017-18. Due to a change in how the ONS categorises burglaries, the localised figures cannot be compared with other years.

There have been two homicides, which are murders or manslaughters. There were four cases of death or injury by dangerous driving. There was a 9% increase in offences with knives or sharp objects, leading to the the highest number of incidents since March 2011, when comparable records started.

In South Worcester theft stayed the same as the previous year. Drugs related offences dropped by 8%. Criminal damage in South Worcester, which includes arson and vandalising cars and houses,was down, from 2,681 incidents in 2016-17, to 2,619 in the latest figures.

While violence with injury, which includes assault, GBH and wounding, has dropped, however it is tough to judge as police recording in this area has improved over the last couple of years.

In South Worcester there were 761 sexual crimes recorded between July 2017 and June 2018 – 11% down on the previous year, when 854 crimes were reported.

There were 1,538 cases of stalking and harassment reported.