POLICE have been praised by councillors after figures showed that crime in a town has dropped significantly in the past month.

At a meeting of Northallerton Town Council, Inspector Nigel Slater, from North Yorkshire Police, said the number of crimes reported in the town between December 14 and January 18 had fallen by 31 per cent. There were 61 crimes reported, a drop from 99 the previous month.

Incidents of vehicle offences and burglary and drug crimes fell significantly, although Insp Slater said there was still a problem of violence.

Twenty-seven violent incidents have been reported since the start of the year, despite the issue being given priority by police.

Insp Slater assured councillors that he would bring in extra officers to patrol problem areas on Friday and Saturday nights.

He said: “Northallerton is no different to any other town.

“We have secured more funding to work on the problem, which will see more officers out on the streets when they are needed most.”

The police were also praised for their work in cracking down on gangs that had targeted Northallerton, particularly to steal purses, of which there had been no reports in the whole of the month.