CRIME at Hampshire’s biggest festival rose slightly compared to last year, police figures have revealed.

Hampshire Constabulary said there were 121 recorded crimes at this year’s Boomtown Fair, which took place between August 7-11 at the Matterley Estate, near Winchester.

The figure marks a slight increase on last year’s number of 107, while still lower than 2017 and 2016, at 127 and 176 respectively.

However, the number of people attending the festival was higher, with 67,000 revellers permitted this year compared to 60,000 in 2018.

Among the crimes reported to Hampshire Constabulary were one sexual assault, 37 thefts from tents, 13 drugs possessions and 13 drugs possession with intent to supply.

The other crimes were assault (eight), robberies (two), theft of tent (one), thefts from person (26), thefts from motor vehicle (six), theft other (12) and crime other (two). It is not clear what is included in the ‘other’ figures.

Commenting on the slight rise, Chief Inspector Mark Lewis said: “This year’s Boomtown Fair went very well and highlighted the effective partnership working between event management, security companies, stewards, medical staff and the police.

“In particular, the weather provided a number of challenges and plans were in place to manage any related issues.

“Crime levels remain low given the numbers of people attending and again this shows the value of working with the event organisers through Winchester City Council’s Safety Advisory Group.”

A spokesman for Boomtown added: “We are really encouraged to see that the crime statistics still remain relatively low at Boomtown. We see this as a testament to the majority of our audience, as well as the working relationship with the local authorities including Hampshire police, Winchester City Council and our teams on the ground.

“In addition, the support we get from the local community reporting in anything they may feel needs our attention is incredibly helpful to minimise the impact locally.”

As previously reported, organisers hailed this year’s festival as the best yet, adding that campsite waste was down 70%.

However, there were complaints over traffic after the festival closed, and Winchester City Council confirmed they had received 20 noise complaints relating to the festival.