THE number of crimes at Basingstoke railway station has increased by 53 per cent according to figures seen by The Gazette.

Statistics from British Transport Police (BTP) show a sharp rise in offences between 2014 and 2016, with bikes stolen from the station being the most common crime taking place.

The figures were obtained by obtained by Labour ward councillor for Brookvale and Kings Furlong, Cllr Jack Cousens.

He said: “British Transport Police carry out some incredibly important work, and we should thank them for their efforts.

“Passengers will be upset to hear that crime has increased by over 50 per cent over a two-year period, especially the fact that more violent crime has increased on our platforms and trains. More must be done to protect rail users.”

One of the stand-out figures was that the number of incidents of common assault at the station had risen from six reported in 2014 to 18 reported in 2016, and over a two-year period the number of thefts of bicycles totalled 66 reported incidents, followed by 38 incidents of theft of personal property.

Cllr Cousens added: “With bicycle thefts the main crime at our station, clearly more needs to be done to protect personal property.

“I’d like to see a collaborative approach between Network Rail, BTP and FirstGroup to show passengers they will do more to help secure bikes parked at the station.”

One of the Cllr Cousens believes the rise in crimes is due to a reduction in front line BTP officers.

Inspector Mark Stook of BTP said: “For us, any crime is one too many and we remain absolutely committed to providing the safest environment for everyone who uses or works on the rail network.

“We regularly have uniformed officers patrolling Basingstoke station and we carry out regular police operations to deter and detect crime.”