THE number of rapes and other sexual offences recorded in Leigh has shot up by 58 per cent in a year.

A Freedom of Information Act request for crime figures from Greater Manchester Police shows that they dealt with 120 sexual offence cases in the town from May 1, 2016, to this April 30.

The figure for the previous year was 76.

Cases of criminal damage including arson also increased in Leigh, by 48 per cent, going from 575 between May 2014 and April 2015 to 853 between May 2016 and this April.

During the same period cases of criminal damage including arson rose significantly in Atherton as well, from 256 to 340 (33 per cent).

In that three-year period public order offences increased drastically, from 159 to 452 in Leigh (184 per cent), from 57 to 139 in Atherton (144 per cent) and from 32 to 73 in Tyldesley (128 per cent).

Cases involving violence causing injuries rose by 93 per cent in Tyldesley over those years, from 57 to 110.

They also increased in Atherton and Leigh, by 55 per cent and 34 per cent respectively.

The number of robberies reported rose across the board as well, from 29 to 63 in Leigh (117 per cent), from nine to 30 in Atherton (233 per cent) and from nine to 13 in Tyldesley (44 per cent), as did weapon possession and vehicle offences.

Possession of a weapon cases increased from 28 to 39 in Leigh (39 per cent), four to nine in Atherton (125 per cent) and two to five in Tyldesley (150 per cent).

Vehicle offences reports rose from 303 to 359 in Leigh (18 per cent), 125 to 227 in Atherton (82 per cent) and 80 to 100 in Tyldesley (25 per cent).

Shoplifting cases increased from 449 to 564 in Leigh, a 27 per cent rise.

But cases of drug possession and trafficking fell in all three towns, by 32 per cent in Leigh (from 102 to 77), by 10 per cent in Atherton (from 22 to 20) and by 110 per cent in Tyldesley (from 21 to 10).