Sidmouth’s neighbourhood policing team saw a 27 per cent drop in reported crime last month.

Officers logged 24 incidents during November, compared to 33 in the same period in 2014.

Notable decreases include burglaries of dwellings, which fell from eight to three, and reports of violence without injury, which dropped from 10 to four. Delivering his monthly report, Sergeant Andy Squires said incidents in other categories had more or less stayed the same, adding: “That is quite encouraging reading.”

The number of reported crimes logged in the parish this year stands at 403.