With an average of five crimes a day in Craven it was one of the safest districts to live in the country, Craven area committee was told by Skipton police inspector Will Scarlett.

There were 1,342 crimes between April and November, an increase of just two per cent on the same period last year, with just one robbery and 27 burglaries. Officers were focusing on rural crime, the vast majority of which was by criminals crossing the border into the district.