YORK has a higher rate of vehicle vandalism than the rest of North Yorkshire, research has revealed.

Information obtained through Freedom of Information requests by MoneySuperMarket revealed that in York there were 636 offences of criminal damage to vehicles recorded between April 2017 and March 2018 - a rate of 3.06 per 1,000 people.

Criminal damage involves damage to a car that was intentionally caused by someone or by something, but does not include another vehicle.

York’s rate was higher than the average figure across North Yorkshire, which was 2.88 offences per 1,000 people.

There was a total of 1,760 offences recorded in North Yorkshire during the same 2017-18 period.

However, both York and North Yorkshire fell below the national average of four offences per 1,000 people.

And York’s rate is also considerably lower than the highest areas in the UK, such as South Nottinghamshire, with an average of 11.65, and the City of London that recorded 10.61 per 1,000 people.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “North Yorkshire has one of the lowest rates of vehicle offences in England and Wales, the Government’s most recent official crime statistics show.

“The Office for National Statistics 2018-19 crime bulletin shows North Yorkshire Police is among the top five force areas with the lowest number of vehicle crimes. Vehicle offences in the county actually fell by four per cent during this period, whereas the national average increased by two per cent.

“However, during certain periods and in certain parts of North Yorkshire we sometimes see spikes in these otherwise low figures. This can be for a range of reasons, including cross-border criminals who target a certain area of North Yorkshire. Dedicated teams such as our Neighbourhood Policing Teams, Road Policing Group, and York’s new City Task Force will aim to continue reducing vehicle crime alongside our other policing priorities.

“This will help ensure York remains one of the safest cities nationally, and North Yorkshire remains the safest county.”