CRIME levels are at their lowest in the Thames Valley since 1989, according to statistics released today.

Thames Valley Police said there is a reduction of five per cent of crimes recorded in the last year compared to the year before.

There were 127,497 crimes recorded across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire from April 2013 until the end of March 2014.

Domestic burglary is also at a 40-year-low- there were 5,668 dwelling burglaries last year, which is 20 per cent less than the year before.

Theft of vehicle is down 10 per cent to 1,892 – resulting in 206 fewer victims of vehicle crime.

The last time crime was lower was in 1989, when there were 119,067 recorded crimes.

However, there was a rise in recorded sexual offences from 1,995 last year to 2,618 this year.

And violence against the person figures are slightly up from 19,529 in the year 2012 to 2013 to 19,623 in the last year.

Deputy chief constable Francis Habgood said: "Firstly, I want to thank all the Thames Valley police officers and staff for their continued hard work. The fact that crime continues to drop shows that their tireless work is paying off. I also want to recognise the work that we do with many partners.

"I also want to thank the public for their help, as it is invaluable to the work we do.

"It is important to note that although this is good news, we will continue to work tirelessly to prevent crime and the public should continue to feel confident in coming forward to report crime, knowing they will be taken seriously."