A NEW crime map website, which was so popular it crashed on its launch day, shows there has been a significant drop in reported offences in Sidmouth.

A NEW crime map website, which was so popular it crashed on its launch day, shows there has been a significant drop in reported offences in Sidmouth.

The national website, www.maps.police.uk, allows residents to view figures for all crime in their area as well as burglary, robbery, violence, vehicle crime and anti-social behaviour.

For the first time people can compare one police area with another, compare figures over a three-month period against the same period for the previous year and view annual crime rates.

The interactive website, which launched on Tuesday, shows that the average number of crimes in Sidmouth has decreased by 19 per cent over the three-month period compared with August to September 2008.

Sidmouth Police say their pro-active approach and extra officers on the beat have contributed to the fall in reported crime.

Sergeant Andy Turner praised the work of PCs Steve Lemon and Dave Wallace who investigate all criminal damage reports and monitor on-going issues in the area.

PCSO Alex Powe, who has been nominated for a Devon and Cornwall Community Watch award, was also commended.

Sergeant Turner said: "They have made some good in-roads and the patrol officers who work here have taken ownership of some of the problems in Sidmouth and have worked hard to address them."

The figures show that crime decreased in both August and September this year but jumped up by 27 per cent in July compared to the same month last year- from an average of 59 to 75 offences.

All individual crime statistics on the website saw a rise in offences during July and vehicle crime nearly doubled.

Sergeant Turner said that officers were working hard to reduce thefts from motor vehicles and offences of this nature dropped by 28 per cent in August and 67 per cent in September.

He added that there was no drug offences dealt with by police during Sidmouth FolkWeek this year whereas 2008's festival saw more than 30 drug-related crimes.

The success of operation Piva, which targets under-age drinkers, was another factor in the drop in crime and Sergeant Turner said two ASBOs granted last year had a "significant effect" on the figures.