Police recorded more robbery and theft offences in Avon and Somerset last year, new figures show.

It comes as the policing minister said too many town centres have been "decimated" by shoplifting and communities have been "left shaken" by knife crime, snatch theft and robbery.

Home Office figures show 2,356 robbery crimes were recorded by Avon and Somerset Constabulary in the year to June – up 33% from 1,765 the year before.

Similarly, theft offences increased 12% from 43,195 in the year to June 2023 to 48,341 last year.

The number of robberies and thefts record by police forces across England and Wales rose by 6% and 3% respectively.

Robbery is a seperate offence to theft as it involves force or the threat of force.

The Office for National Statistics said the rise in theft was predominantly the result of increases in shoplifting offences and "theft from the person" offences.

In Avon and Somerset, 16,726 shoplifting offences were recorded last year, a 40% increase on the year before.

Theft from the person crimes rose 2% in the area, with 910 logged in 2023-24.

Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said the data showed the "scale of the challenge we have inherited in our mission to make streets safer".

Dame Diana added: "Too many town centres have been decimated by record levels of shoplifting, and communities have been left shaken by rising levels of knife crime, snatch theft and robbery.

"This Government will restore neighbourhood policing across the country, put thousands more dedicated officers out on our streets and scrap the £200 shoplifting threshold, bringing an end to the effective impunity for thieves who steal low value goods."

Graham Wynn, British Retail Consortium assistant director of regulatory affairs, said the figures "reflect the scale of the issue which retailers face on a day-to-day basis".

He added: "Shoplifting remains at its highest level in 20 years and cost retailers £1.8 billion last year. The thieves committing these crimes are becoming bolder, more aggressive, and are more frequently armed with weapons.

"The Government must ensure the standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker passes into law as soon as possible to protect all retail workers and to send a clear message that this behaviour will not be tolerated."

He added creating this new offence would give police the data they need to allocate resources to "tackle this epidemic".