Photo: Mumpenny · CC BY-SA 2.0Crime in Five Ashes: the figures, without a grade
Five Ashes has no Safety Grade, though police recorded crimes inside its built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. We grade Safety from 1,000 residents, and Five Ashes has fewer: at that size a handful of incidents moves the rate a long way. Recorded violent and sexual offences ran at 22.4 per 1,000 residents a year, and burglary, vehicle crime and damage at 11.2.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Five Ashes runs highest on anti-social behaviour (27.6 per 1,000 against 5.3) and violence & sexual offences (23.7 per 1,000 against 16.6).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 14 | 27.6 | 5.3 |
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 12 | 23.7 | 16.6 |
| Public order | not graded | 7 | 13.8 | 2.4 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 4 | 7.9 | 3.2 |
| Other crime | not graded | 4 | 7.9 | 1.1 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 2 | 3.9 | 1.5 |
| Other theft | not graded | 1 | 2 | 2.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 1 | 2 | 1.6 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1 | 2 | 0.6 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbery | Violent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
“Violent” is police.uk’s violence and sexual offences (which includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury), robbery and possession of weapons. Anti-social behaviour isn’t a crime category; shoplifting and other theft happen mostly in shops and town centres rather than to residents, so neither counts in the grade.
September 2025 to August 2026, per 1,000 residents. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people.
Crime in Five Ashes per 1,000 residents
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
And about 14 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 2 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
12 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 14 the year before
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling twelve-month rate, per 1,000 residents a year (longer windows for smaller places, where a few crimes swing a month).
Crime in the places around Five Ashes
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Five Ashes | 507 | 22.4 | 11.2 | — |
| Mayfield | 2,253 | 9.8 | 5.2 | A |
| Heathfield | 7,663 | 16.2 | 7.6 | B+ |
| Rotherfield | 1,219 | 8.8 | 6.3 | A |
| Broad Oak (Wealden) | 1,097 | 12.8 | 6.1 | A |
| Buxted | 1,616 | 14 | 7.9 | A− |
| Crowborough | 21,990 | 17.3 | 8 | B+ |
| Horam | 1,797 | 28.4 | 10.8 | C+ |
Five Ashes records more graded crime per resident than 6 of its 7 neighbours; only Horam records more. Mayfield, 2.2 miles away, records 9.8 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Five Ashes’s 22.4.
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Where crimes happen, not where victims live. police.uk places each crime at a point near where it happened. Town centres with shops, stations, a hospital and nightlife record more crime per resident, and residents of nearby villages who come in to shop or go out are part of that count.
- Bigger towns record more per resident. Across UK towns, recorded crime per resident rises steeply with size, more than in the U.S., so a city’s grade sits low against the whole UK. The “towns its size” figures show where Five Ashes sits among towns like it; they are context and don’t change the grade.
- Points are approximate. police.uk moves each point to the nearest of a set of anonymous map points, so crimes near the edge of the built-up area can fall either side of it.
Questions about safety in Five Ashes
Is Five Ashes safe?
Police recorded 22.4 violent and sexual offences and 11.2 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Five Ashes’s built-up area).
Is crime going up in Five Ashes?
Police recorded 12 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 14 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Five Ashes?
Violence & sexual offences: 12 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came public order (7) and criminal damage & arson (4), with 14 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Five Ashes compare with Royal Tunbridge Wells?
Royal Tunbridge Wells records 30.7 violent and sexual offences and 13.1 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Five Ashes’s 22.4 and 11.2, over the same three years.
Sources: data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain by LSOA (residents from ONS Census 2021) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.