Crime rates in seven out of 10 Dover wards eased from November to January, figures show.

But Maxton Elms Vale and Priory had increased from 89 to 101, making it the most crime-rich ward in the town.

A resource on the authority’s website calculates how much crime is reported across the district in a month.

Sgt Paul Gammon said: “To put the figures into some context, it is worth noting that, although named as ‘all crime’, they incorporate non-crime calls made to the police such as anti-social behaviour (which includes bad parking, noisy neighbours and dog mess, etc).”

River saw an increase from 17 to 31 and Buckland from 51 to 52.

Maxton ward councillor Peter Wallace said: “It’s very worrying to see an increase in crime.
“There are a whole raft of reasons why we have such a high level of crime in the area.

'The ward is consistently one of the worst places in the district for crime.' - Cllr Peter Wallace

“The ward is consistently one of the worst places in the district for crime.

“We have many families going to Dover Foodbank, overcrowding, housing in poor conditions, a lack of outdoor play areas for children, drug dealing and a recurrent problem with fly-tipping.”

The biggest improvement was recorded by St Radigund’s which had the worst rate of 100 in November. It had dropped to 80.