Violent crime has sky-rocketed in suburban areas, with some Shire towns seeing an increase of over 140 per cent in the past four years.

National Crime Agency figures reveal the robbery rates in small towns have surpassed London as criminals target quieter, more affluent areas.

Experts have warned drug trafficking in Shire towns is on the rise because organised crimegangs are increasingly using supply routes known as 'country lines'.

An NCA report published in November 2017 confirms fears over suburban crime hotspots, showing an increase in drug trafficking, knife and acid attacks.

Violent crime has sky-rocketed in suburban areas, with some Shire towns seeing an increase of over 140 per cent in the past four years. File image used

In Avon and Somerset violence against the person offences rose from 16,494 in 2013 to 40,234 in 2017 - an increase of 144 per cent.

Norfolk has also seen a surge, with figures going from 8,294 violent crimes in 2013 to 18,002 four years later (117 per cent).

Northamptonshire Police reported a 115 per cent rise in just four years, citing a nationwide increase in violent crime as one of the main reasons.

Robberies are most common in the north west of England, figures show, with 6,038 in 2013 and 9,281 in 2017. The east of England appears to have the lowest robbery rates.

Despite the rise in offences, it's bad news for victims as the same report reveals fewer than five per cent of robberies committed last year resulted in a conviction.

It was revealed last week that police did not solve a single burglary in more than 3,000 neighbourhoods in England and Wales last year.

In nearly one in ten areas across the country, no one was brought to justice for raids on residential and commercial properties.

There were no break-ins solved in 3,105 of the 34,250 neighbourhoods in 2017, analysis of local crime figures from forces in England and Wales reveals.

In the Northamptonshire town of Corby there were 64 robberies in 2017, but just seven people have been charged with offences so far.

The county's police force told The Sunday Times the spike in figures is 'in line with other parts of the country' and they are tackling it as a priority.

Meanwhile the Avon and Somerset force defended its decision to close down Bath's police station and sell the building to the university.

In Avon and Somerset violence against the person offences rose from 16,494 in 2013 to 40,234 in 2017 - an increase of 144 per cent. File image used

They told the newspaper the station not being open has had no effect on the number of foot and vehicle patrols in the city and there is still an 'enquiries centre' open seven days a week.

In a statement Norfolk Police told The Sunday Times: 'Recorded crime has increased across the country and Norfolk is no different.

'There is no simple explanation for these increases and there are a number of likely factors behind the trend, including genuine increases in crime and improved recording practices.'

The long-standing assumption families in more rural areas are more affluent appears to have led to an increase in luxury car burglaries.

Europol, the EU’s law enforcement agency, has warned that luxury car burglaries are often committed by highly organised, itinerant Eastern European crime groups, who typically target a region for a short period before moving on.

The gangs, according to one senior Scotland Yard officer, sometimes sleep up to 15 to a room in short-term rented homes as they move around the country and share details of potential targets.

In 2016, a Lithuanian gang was jailed for a total of 35 years for 120 burglaries in Derbyshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, North Wales and Staffordshire.

More than £300,000 in cash and hauls of expensive jewellery was stolen in the prolific four-month crime spree by Gytis Dambaokas, 30, Tomas Juospaitis, 31, Grazvydas Kasarauskas, 34, and Giedrius Batutis, 33.

Despite the rise in offences, it's bad news for victims as the same report reveals fewer than five per cent of robberies committed last year resulted in a conviction. File image used

Three members of another Lithuanian gang — Dainius Gastilavicius, 41, Arturas Malysovas, 23, and Tomas Paulavicius, 38 — were also jailed in 2016 for 21 years after at least 84 burglaries across Devon, West Sussex, Suffolk and Norfolk.

Oxford Crown Court was the setting last year for a case that also shed light on the foreign burglary gangs now targeting Britain.

The defendants, Ailin Miranda, 22, and Alfredo Rodriguez, 34, admitted breaking into a property in Oxford and taking cash, jewellery and cufflinks worth £15,000 when they appeared in the dock.

The pair, sentenced to 20 months in prison, claimed to have been trafficked and exploited. But the prosecution put forward a very different scenario.

They were, in fact, part of a Chilean gang that is sending criminals to Britain to target high-value homes in two-week crime sprees.

They are then flown back to the South American country and replaced by another wave of burglars.