RENEWED calls have been made to end austerity in policing after figures showed crime in Lancashire is on the rise.

Police have registered sharp increases in knife and gun crime amid mounting concern over spiralling levels of violence.

Official figures show forces in England and Wales also recorded rises in homicides and robberies last year.

In findings that will place the Government’s efforts to make Britain’s streets safer in the spotlight, it was reported that there had been an increase in “high-harm” violent offences.

In Lancashire, overall crime rose by 15 per cent, with more than 120,000 total offences logged by the force in 2017.

Clive Grunshaw, Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner said: “These latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) show the increasing demand on our police service.

“Only the police in London receive more calls by population than here in Lancashire.

“While recorded crime is going up, victim-based measures like the Crime Survey of England and Wales show similar levels to previous years.

“What we are seeing is better recording by the police and previously hidden crimes coming to light through increased confidence to report by victims.

“While the figures are concerning I am glad that more people are accessing the specialist support that is available through Lancashire Victim Services.

“The increasing pressures on the service which are absolutely clear in these statistics are yet more evidence that the Government needs to think again about its policy of austerity in policing.

“Officers continue to do more with less, working around the clock to protect those who live and work in the county.”

Lancashire Police declined to comment.

Across the country, forces recorded 39,598 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2017, a 22 per cent increase compared with the previous year, and the highest number registered since comparable records started in 2010.

Offences involving firearms were also up, by 11 per cent to 6,604 recorded crimes.

These offences tend to be disproportionately concentrated in London and other metropolitan areas, the Office for National Statistics said, but it added that the majority of police force areas saw rises in these types of violent crime.

In the overall category of “violence against the person”, there were 1.3 million crimes logged, a rise of a fifth on the number in 2016.

Recorded burglary and robbery offences went up by 9 per cent and 33 per cent respectively, while the separate Crime Survey for England and Wales showed a 17 per cent jump in vehicle thefts.

In total, police recorded 5.4 million offences, a 13 per cent year-on-year rise.

According to the crime survey, which the ONS says is the most reliable indicator of long-term trends in the most common types of offending experienced by the general population, there were an estimated 10.6 million incidents of crime, a fall of 7 per cent on the previous 12 months.