Last year’s crime figures have been strongly influenced by the coronavirus pandemic, with fewer home break-ins and more online criminality, according to new police figures.

The number of burglaries at private homes fell by 23% and number of reported pick-pocketing offences fell by almost 50%, police said in a review of the year in crime.

However, being confined more to home did lead to a sharp rise in noise and nuisance complaints. The police were called to almost 145,000 incidents involving noisy neighbours and troublesome youngsters last year, up 39% on 2019.

At the same time, there was also an 127% rise in the number of recorded instances of cyber related crime, such as phishing and bank fraud.