CRIME on the railways across Essex dropped by more than five per cent in the last year.

Between 2010 and 2011, British Transport Police recorded 12,043 offences which happened in and around stations and on railway lines, a 5.3 per cent drop on the 12,716 reported to train cops in the previous year.

The London North area, which covers Essex, also saw a five per cent fall in violent crime and police solving 5,665 crimes.

The area also saw cable theft, a growing problem nationally, fall by 15 per cent although the theft of metal from the railways of Essex has caused disruption over the past year.

Chief Supt Mark Smith, BTP’s area commander, said: “Cable theft is a real challenge for us, the rail industry and other utilities.

“The record price of metals on world markets has made this type of crime seem increasingly attractive, although the actual returns to the thieves are pretty modest.

“Metal theft causes significant disruption to rail services and that means real consequences for real people – missed business meetings, family celebrations and appointments, for instance.

“That’s not to mention the huge financial costs to the rail industry and the dangers to the thieves themselves.

“We have increased the resources we are devoting to this issue and are working closely with Network Rail to find more effective ways of reversing this trend.”

In Essex transport police carried out several crackdown on metal thefts in recent months.

They visited scrap dealers to make sure they were not handling stolen metals.

Officers also manned a special night-time train, which patrolled through the night, to catch crooks in the act.