NEW crime maps designed to show you exactly how many offences have been committed in your street have gone live this morning.

But the site crashed almost immediately after logging more than 75,000 hits per second.

The maps are intended to give people the information they need to hold their local police to account.

Home Secretary Theresa May said the maps, accessible online at police.uk would help people find out what was really going on in their area.

Critics say it will drive down the value of houses in "high-crime" areas or lead to people being uncessarily afraid.

It is the first time such detailed crime maps have been available for an entire country anywhere in the world.

People will be able to find out which crimes have taken place on or near their street within the last month, as well as the names of the officers responsible for their area.

Each crime has been sorted into one of six broad categories - violent crime, burglary, robbery, vehicle crime, anti-social behaviour and other crime.

Sex crimes have been included in the "other" category, along with crimes such as theft and shoplifting, to help prevent victims from being identified.

The Echo will be scouring the maps during the course of the day - once they are back up and running - but have a look at your street and let us know in the comments if you find anything interesting.