A VETERAN councillor has said he “completely disagrees” with figures which place England’s smallest town among the top 20 most dangerous places in Essex.

Data from Crime Rate shows Manningtree, famed for its historic homes and beautiful views across the River Stour, is one of the 20 most dangerous places out of Essex’s 315 towns, villages and cities.

According to the statistics, the overall crime rate in Manningtree stood at 133 crimes per 1,000 people in 2021, which is higher than the Essex rate of 81 per 1,000 residents.

Clacton is rated the worst medium sized town, with 6,611 crimes and a rate of 123 crimes per 1,000 people.

Basildon was the worst major town, with a total of 14,679 crimes, and a crime rate of 125 crimes per 1,000 people.

Colchester was ranked as the 36th most dangerous place in Essex and the second safest major town in the list with a crime rate of 96 crimes per 1,000 people.

Violence and sexual offences were most common in 2021 with 6,682 cases reported.

The least common crime was robbery, with 92 offences recorded for the same period.

Harwich was in the top five most dangerous small towns with a rate of 110 crimes per 1,000 people.

But Manningtree councillor Carlo Guglielmi said the figures did not portray a true picture.

He said: “I would disagree with it completely.

“We have historically been one of the safest areas in the whole of Essex and probably within the country.

“When you talk about crime you immediately think of grievous bodily harm or robberies or murders or rape.

“If we look at petty crime it needs to be made loud and clear that it is petty crime and not serious organised crime.”

The most common crimes in Manningtree are violence and sexual offences, with 55 cases recorded during 2021, giving a crime rate of 57 crimes per 1,000 people.

Further data also suggests there were 29 cases of anti-social behaviour together with 21 cases of shoplifting and nine cases of criminal damage and arson. There were also four burglaries and 12 other thefts.

Manningtree’s least common crime is drugs, with only one offence recorded in 2021.

Mr Guglielmi added: ” I am truly shocked to hear it. I was only talking to the police commander before Christmas and they were reiterating to me how safe the area is.

“It has always been one of the safest places in the whole of Essex – if there is a chance of crime being established we need to tackle it as we possibly can.”

Visit crimerate.co.uk for more.