The most dangerous areas for crime in England and Wales are revealed - how safe is Manchester?

Official data has emerged that reveals the areas across England and Wales that have the highest crime rates.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has compiled crime statistics per 1,000 people in England and Wales for the year leading to June 2021.

Figures found that Cleveland, Yorkshire is the region with the highest number of crimes in proportion to its population, recording 114.9 crimes per 1,000 residents.

West Yorkshire Police had to deal with the second most with 111.6 crimes.

Kent is the only southern police force that makes the top 10 list.

Across both nations, the most frequently reported crime was violence against a person with more than 1.8 million reported.

Furthermore, 1.35 million theft offences were recorded, as well as 716,521 cases of violence without injury.

There were 673,605 reports of stalking and harassment across England and Wales, with a record number of rape crimes as 61,158 were noted.

But no fraudulent crimes are included in the figures.

In total, it is estimated that there were 12.7 million offences altogether in the year ending June 2021 - nearly 9% of adults across the two countries have been affected.

But how safe is Manchester?

Despite being named as the United Kingdom’s safest city by a study towards the turn of last year, it is not reflected by official government figures.

Greater Manchester joins the likes of Merseyside and the West Midlands in filling out the rest of the top five areas with the highest crime rates.

Recording an average of 107.9 crimes per 1,000 people, the Manchester region ranks as the fifth most dangerous area in England and Wales.

More ONS statistics using the same measurements also found that the region ranks fifth in the highest number of violent crimes with 40.

Greater Manchester Police have also had to deal with the joint-second most sexual offences, tying with Northamptonshire with 3.6 per 1,000 residents.