FORTY per cent of crimes in Hampshire went unsolved last year, new figures have revealed.

According to the Office of National Statistics, recorded offences soared by almost 20,000 in the year to March 2016.

The figures acknowledge that changes to the way crimes are recorded have impacted on the figures.

Hampshire police have moved to reassure the public that the apparent increase "does not necessarily mean there is more crime on our streets or in our homes", just that it is being recorded differently.

But 133,044 crimes were committed in the year to March 2016, according to the data, compared to 111,836 the year before.

Of the last year's cases 54,650 - 41 per cent - were left unsolved with no suspect identified.

The statistics also reveal that in 2,827 cases Hampshire police did not proceed with any further action as it was deemed to be 'not in the public interest'.

Hampshire police said there could be many reasons for that but that the offender may well be dealt with through other means including restorative justice programmes.

Of the 133,044 crimes recorded, only 15,785 resulted in someone being charged or issued with a summons.