SEX offences rose by almost 15 per cent in Lancashire during the last nine months of 1996 - but police solved more than 85 per cent of cases.

Lancashire Constabulary figures, covering the period from April to the end of last year, also show a 6.2 per cent rise in robbery compared to the same period in 1995.

But household burglaries fell by 7.4 per cent, from 13,110 to 12,134, and the force also improved its performance in answering 999 calls and attending emergencies.

The 14.6 per cent increase in sexual offences was part of a 2.8 per cent rise in violent crimes, to 4,042 compared to 3,930 during the same period in 1995.

But the level of violent crime in Lancashire is still among the lowest in the country.

Detections of sexual offences reached 85.8 per cent and the number of violent crime detections per 100 officers rose from 85.9 to 87.7.

Officers detected 74.8 per cent of homicides and assaults between last April and December and 37.2 per cent of robberies.

The detection rate for burglaries fell by one per cent, to 34 per cent.

Lancashire officers answered 95 per cent of 999 calls within 10 seconds, compared to 92 per cent between April and December 1995.

And they got to 97 per cent of immediate response incidents within 15 minutes, compared to 93 per cent during the same period the previous year.

The figures are due to be considered by members of Lancashire police authority's policing committee on Thursday). .

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.