Two-thirds of people feel that crime has risen across the country over the last two years, despite official figures showing the number of offences is slightly down, the government said on Thursday.

Four out of 10 people thought crime had gone up in their local area, according to the annual British Crime Survey, based on interviews with more than 40,000 people.

The BCS survey showed that crime was stable in the year to March, although vandalism was up 10 percent and violent crime rose by five percent.

Burglaries and car thefts were down slightly, while the risk of becoming a victim of crime rose by one percent.

"One of the biggest challenges we face is that public perceptions of crime levels remain high," said Home Secretary Jacqui Smith. "We realise that anti-social behaviour is a major concern for many communities and I want to reassure people that we are taking the issue seriously."

A second set of figures based on offences reported to police showed a two percent fall in crime.

Robberies rose three percent, while drugs offences were up nine percent.