THE number of people caught with guns and knives in Waverley more than doubled in 2017, while household burglaries rose by 81 per cent – according to the police’s latest recorded crime statistics.

But it is vehicle-related crime and specifically thefts of tools from secure vans, which has seen a surgee in 2018, with victims protesting the police are not doing enough to track down those responsible for stealing their livelihoods.

There were 34 weapons possession offences in the borough in 2017, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

They can include hand guns, knives and even corrosive acid.

That figure is up 142.9 per cent on 2016, when 14 incidents were recorded.

Overall, police recorded crime in Waverley increased in 2017.

During the last year 5,357 crimes were recorded, up by 16 per cent on 2016.

That means that 43 out of every 1,000 residents in the borough experienced a crime during 2017, below the England and Wales average of 81.

The ONS data coincides with the release of Surrey Police’s end-of-year crime statistics for 2017/18, showing recorded crime increased 14 per cent across the county during this period.

But Surrey’s own statistics do indicate the rate recorded crime has been increasing is beginning to slow – down from the 20 per cent increase seen mid-way through the year in October 2017.

Household burglaries rose by a shocking 81 per cent in Waverley in 2017.

There were 371 break-ins during 2017, compared with 205 over the previous year. That incorporates a notable spike in offences in the area in and around Haslemere.

So far in 2018, most of the thefts reported this year by Waverley Neighbourhood Watch in Haslemere, Chiddingfold, Witley and Milford have been vehicle related, in which valuable tools have been stolen overnight from vans locked and parked on driveways, or the actual vehicles were stolen.

In some cases construction hire vehicles parked overnight at building sites were taken.

The increase in vehicle-related crime and specifically tool thefts locally, is part of a recent spike across the county and elsewhere over the past month