Crime has continued to drop in Cowley, according to new figures.

Statistics just released show that there were 35.1 per cent less recorded crimes between January and March compared with the same period in 2007 in the Oxford area.

One of the biggest changes was a 77 per cent drop in domestic burglaries, from 61 to just 14.

Cowley area police commander Inspector Graham Sutherland said: "We're very pleased with the way things are turning out.

"We are consistently showing reductions across the whole range of crimes. All the categories are down really except neighbour nuisance which we as a team plan to address. There is still work to be done."

Neighbour nuisance rose by 58.3 per cent, from 12 cases to 19.

Insp Sutherland said: "Now the good weather is here, we have to be prepared for the fact drinking in the parks is going to become a bit more popular. People will be out in their gardens when the sun shines and that is when we start to get more neighbourhood disputes."

There was a mixed reaction to the figures from people living and working in the area.

Mother-of-two Rebecca Wimble, 26, of Horspath Road, said: "You can see crime has dropped round here, it's quite quiet at the moment.

"There's quite a lot of police presence."

She said the area generally felt safer - but she believed drug abuse had increased.

Street drinking had gone up from one instance to three.

Vehicle crime overall dropped from 81 to 58, a fall of 28.4 per cent. But vehicle interference more than doubled, from four occasions to nine.

Joyce Fry, 80, from Peat Moors, said she was constantly bothered by cars speeding through the estate. She said: "I don't see much of a difference from last year at all."

Violent crime dropped by 14.7 per cent, with wounding offences falling more than a third, although less serious common assault incidents rose by 34.5 per cent with ten more cases.