Getty A surge in sexual offences and violent crime has gripped the UK, figures shows

FREE now SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Make the most of your money by signing up to our newsletter fornow We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

The number of crimes recorded by police was 5.2million up until June this year, an increase of 13 per cent on the previous year. Sexual offences rose, with figures showing there was a 19 per cent increase leading to 129,700 incidents compared with last year. And England and Wales saw violent crimes rise from 1,033,719 to 1,229,260 this year. The figures, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show a worrying increase in violent crime gripping the UK.

UKIP's Home Affairs Spokesperson Jane Collins said: “The first thing that strikes me about the latest ONS crime statistics is that it suggests we are not a country that is at peace with itself. "It is accepted that crime is reported more frequently and documented more efficiently. Even so the types of crimes that are reported as being on the increase are 'violent' and sexual offences involving knives or sharp instruments. We have also seen the horrific reporting of acid attacks. "To gain a true picture as to what is causing these crimes and tackle them effectively we must look openly and honestly into the areas where these crimes are occurring. "We must examine the demographic profiles and the socio-economics. To tackle crime we must understand the causes of crime."

Getty Sexual offences rose, with figures showing that there was a 19 per cent increase up to 129,700

Figures showed an increase of violence without injury by 21 per cent and stalking harassment by 36 per cent - the biggest increases. Violent crime with injury saw a 10 per cent rise -many of those were assaults. Elsewhere, there was a fall in the number of murders. There were 664 homicides in the past year, until June, a 2 per cent fall on the previous year. But the ONS said that the figures were impacted by a lack of recording victims from the London and Manchester terror attacks.

Getty Police said that they saw a sharp rise in the number of violent crimes that took place in the UK