Crime in Sidmouth dropped by 24 per cent in December, compared with last year.

A total of 37 crimes in Sidmouth were reported to Devon and Cornwall Police in the month of December 2019, compared to 50 crimes in December 2018.

A report on Sidmouth's monthly crime statistics was given to Sidmouth Town Council on Monday, January 6, by Sergeant Andrew Squires.

Crimes recorded as 'violence with injury' went from seven in 2018 to eight in 2019, a rise of 14 per cent.

Violent crimes 'without injury' dropped by 22 per cent. There were nine cases recorded in December 2018 and seven cases recorded in December 2019.

Cases of 'burglary of a dwelling' went from three in December 2018 to two in 2019.

'Non-dwelling' burglary cases went from four in 2018 to three in 2019.

Vehicle offences dropped by 43 per cent in December 2019 compared to the same month the previous year. There were seven cases in 2018 and only four in 2019.

Shoplifting was reduced by half, with only two offences reported in December 2019.

Criminal Damage dropped by 66 per cent, going from six cases in 2018 to only two in 2019.

The was a slight rise in Public Order Offences, going from one in 2018 to three in 2019.

There was one recorded incident involving 'possession of weapons' in December 2019, there were none in 2018.

Cases of drug possession went down by 75 per cent, with only one case reported in the last month of 2019.