DORSET East has been named as the safest part of the country by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.

The trust analysed Home Office figures and said it has the lowest amount of violent offences in the country per 1,000 population.

"Dorset Eastern" covers the county from Wareham up to Wimborne and Blandford and down to Christchurch - but does not include Bournemouth and Poole.

There were only eight offences against the person per 1,000 people, compared with 44 per thousand in the most dangerous area.

Eastern Dorset Divisional Superintendent Gary Smith said: "It's not news to us - we've been trying to make people aware of this for a long time."

He said keeping control of the night-time economy in small towns like Swanage and Wimborne was vital to success, and that the area did not have the crime that went with a large night-time economy.

He also said the public is more crime safety aware, and new technology meant car crime was now only a job for "professionals".

Suzy Lamplugh Trust chief executive Steven Gauge said of the figures: "It must be very reassuring for east Dorset residents, but they should not be complacent and the risks are still there."

The most dangerous three places were North Manchester, Sheffield City Centre and Southampton.