The British Crime Survey shows overall the North East saw a 4% drop in crime - the lowest rate for 10 years.

The Northumbria and Durham forces are ranked in the top five in England for solving crime.

The British Crime Survey also confirms County Durham as one of the safest places in the country to live.

Figures showed there were 280,062 total recorded crimes in the North East in the past year, compared with 290,490 the year before.

In the North East, rates of criminal damage were above the average of England and Wales but rates of violence against the person, robbery, theft and handling of stolen goods were below.

'Confusing' figures

Rates of vehicle-related theft were significantly lower than the average.

Middlesbrough saw the biggest drop in the North East, with more than 3,000 fewer crimes than the previous year.

Nationally, crime fell by 5%, according to the survey, according to the British Crime Survey.

Director of crime reduction for the North East, Fiona Young, said: "What we are seeing here and what that means is that you are less likely to be a victim of crime in the North East overall than elsewhere in the country, so we are very pleased by that."

Chairman of the North of England Victims Association David Hines said the figures were "confusing".

He said: "What I would like to see is sentencing as the greatest issue of the day and the restoring of the deterrent. We don't believe there is a deterrent to stop serious crime."