The number of crimes committed in Watford over the last six months is down - even on pre-lockdown levels.

The town's chief inspector Ian Grout said his force had recorded 3,868 crimes between April of this year and September 20, which was down 19.5 per cent on the same period in 2019.

Chief Insp Grout says he would normally compare crime figures year-on-year but says figures from 2020 are "skewed" because of the pandemic and lockdown restrictions.

Between April and September this year, there were 147 burglaries recorded which was down 26 per cent from the same period in 2019, while sexual offences (117) were down 14.6 per cent.

Vehicles offences which includes theft from vehicles, was one of the more common crimes carried out during lockdown but the 384 offences committed between April and September is down 35.5 per cent from 2019.

Robbery (49) has also reduced by 34.7 per cent with the total number of reported assaults (1,323), which range from common to the most serious such as GBH and even murder, was down 3.9 per cent.

Read more: How much CCTV is there in Watford and how is it catching criminals?

The chief inspector said he is able to offer councillors a more detailed breakdown of incidents at a later date after he was quizzed by Watford Borough Council's overview and scrutiny committee on September 23.

For example, Vicarage Labour councillor Jagtar Singh Dhindsa asked for a breakdown of incidents linked to race after he mentioned Watford is "very multicultural".

Although crimes are down on 2019, Watford's night-time economy remained mostly closed until July and so the crime figures were likelier to be lower again this year.

The total number of crimes reported to police in Watford between April and September of this year (3,868) is the 5th highest in Hertfordshire's ten districts.

The most were recorded in Dacorum followed by St Albans district, Welwyn & Hatfield, and Stevenage.

Overall, crime is up by 14 per cent when compared to last year's figure but Chief Insp Grout said "this is to be expected" because parts of Watford were shut down last year such as its night scene.