VIOLENT crimes in an area of County Durham - where two pensioners were recently attacked - have soared by 60 per cent.

But senior police chiefs insist the figures do not paint a true picture of crime in Durham Police's Easington district command.

On January 8, George Sharpe, 82, died of a heart attack hours after being targeted by a conman at his home in Haswell.

Later the same month, a 78-year-old woman from Westlea, Seaham, was indecently assaulted in her bed by a male intruder.

The crime figures which cover both areas, have shown that violent crimes rose by 60 per cent between last April and December.

Crime increased by 20 per cent overall, and thefts from vehicles rose by 39 per cent.

However, the number of house burglaries fell by 17 per cent and vehicle thefts by two per cent.

A report by the divisional commander, Chief Superintendent Trevor Watson, notes that the violent crime statistics equate to three assaults each day.

But it states that of the six districts within the Durham Constabulary area, Easington still has the lowest number of such offences.

Chief Supt Watson said a new way of recording crime had given a distorted pic- ture.

"In January 2002, the new national recording standards were introduced, and the figures rose to a significantly higher level," he said.

"The huge increase is almost exclusively due to the new recording methods."

He said that previously, some incidents would not be logged as crimes, such as when the victim withdrew their complaint, but now everything was recorded.

He said: "The trend is reducing, not increasing.

"In January 2002, there were 131 violent crimes, and in January 2003, there were 96."

He added: "There are very few cases like the one in Seaham, where we haven't caught the person who committed the offence.

"Of the assaults recorded, 82 per cent are detected.This is significantly higher than the force average of 76 per cent."

He said that combating violent crime remained one of the force's priorities.

"We recognise that violent crime is a priority for the public and we continue to put effort into reducing it," he said.