COLCHESTER town centre has the highest crime rate in Essex, according to a leading stats think tank.

Excluding Stansted Airport, UK Crime Stats shows Colchester Town takes the unwanted top spot - which takes into account crimes over the last six years - with a crime rate of 32.6.

That rate is calculated by the researchers as "crimes per 1,000 residents".

Moulsham, in Chelmsford, is behind the town centre with a rate of 26.4.

Other Colchester areas, such as St Andrews and St Annes, 9.01, Harbour Berechurch, 8.7, also appear in the "top 40".

The town centre remains at the top even when petty crimes such as bicycle thefts and shoplifting are not taken into the account.

When the search criteria is changed to 'total crimes', Colchester Town drops to second, behind Southend Central.

Those figures show there has been an average of 325 crimes per month in the town centre since December 2010.

Southend Central has a much higher average of 730 crimes per month.

Colchester's public safety boss Tim Young (Lab) lay the responsibility for the figures "fairly and squarely at the door of the Government".

He added: "The reason why the figures are going up is because of the lack of police and cuts to the police.

"I would expect Roger Hirst (the new Conservative Essex Police and Crime Commissioner) to do something about that.

"If he puts officers back on the beat and doesn't cut PCSOs, I would expect those figures to improve.

"The cuts which have been made to the police have been a false economy."

He added: "That said, I wouldn't say anybody regards Colchester as a high crime area.

"Most people think they are safe when they going out about in the town centre."

An Essex Police spokeswoman said: "Colchester remains a safe place to live and work.

"The Office for National Statistics crime statistics published in September 2015 show that crime levels are much lower in Essex than they were 10 years ago, with 30,000 fewer crimes committed compared to 2005.

"There are always variations in crime patterns at a local level.

"We continually analyse the crime data for Colchester to identify trends so we can put officers where they are most needed and carry out operations where they will be most effective.

"Considerable effort is also put into targeting prolific offenders and we continue to see valuable returns from that."

She added: "We would urge the public to tell us about any suspicious activity or information on crime and criminals by calling 101 or 999 in emergencies.

"It is their support which allows us to keep Colchester and the surrounding area one of the safest places in the country."