WEST Devon is one of the safest places to live in Britain, according to crime figures released by the Home Office recently.

Borough councillor David Stapleton, chairman of the West Devon community safety partnership, said the south west region had the lowest figures for violent crime in the country.

The national average is five incidents per thousand of the population. In the south west the figure is less than half that at 2.2.

'And West Devon is the lowest in the region, maybe the lowest in the country,' he said.

The figures for burglaries in West Devon are also the lowest in the region at 1.3 incidents. Car crime, too, is almost half the national average at 0.8.

Chris Vercoe, West Devon's crime reduction officer, said the recent figures were very encouraging.

'Dwelling house burglary is one which we target in West Devon as it causes tremendous distress to the victims. I hope the figures will demonstrate to the residents of West Devon that it is a good place to live and help reduce any fears they have about crime,' he said.

Mr Stapleton said it was the fear of crime that was the main problem, especially among the elderly.

'Any incident is bad, but certainly people in West Devon have less to fear than almost anywhere else in the country,' he said.

The improvements are probably due not only to the Crime and Disorder Bill, which introduced formal co-operation between the police, local authorities and many other bodies in dealing with crime, but also measures introduced earlier, such as the Devon Youth Project — YouthWize, Neighbourhood Watch and the Moor Watch project.

The current major priority is domestic violence, increasingly reported these days and a substantial element in violent crime figures.

Mr Stapleton said they could not afford to be complacent and more agencies were joining in the fight against crime

'We are all going the same way, working together extremely well,' he said. 'We anticipate even lower figures in the future.'

West Devon police commander Chief Inspector Chris Amos said he too welcomed the figures.

'I assure the people of West Devon the police team will continue to make the district a safe environment to live and work,' he said.