People in London are nearly twice as likely to be the victims of violent crime and sex attacks as those in other parts of England and Wales.

New figures from the Office of National Statistics also reveal that the city has the highest rates of robbery, theft and handling of stolen goods.

Suffolk and Staffordshire also experienced some of the biggest increases in crimes, according to figures for 1999-2000.

There were 14,000 crimes per 100,000 people in London, compared to only 7,000 in the east of England.

People in the capital were more likely to be the victims of violence and sex crimes, where the rates were almost twice the national average for England and Wales.

Car theft

Yorkshire and Humberside and the north west also recorded the highest rates for particular crimes.

Criminal damage and car theft were highest in the north west, with 1,041 cars stolen in the region for every 100,000 people.

Burglary was most common in Yorkshire and Humberside, where 2,656 crimes were recorded, compared with a national average of 1,729, according to the figures.

In Suffolk and Staffordshire, crime rates went up by 11% and 13% respectively.

The south west had the least gun crime, with 934 offences, which was less than a quarter of that recorded in London.