Photo: Stacey Harris · CC BY-SA 2.0Crime per resident in Leigh runs lower than in 85% of UK towns
Its letter for safety is A, worked out from crimes police recorded inside Leigh’s built-up area over September 2023 to August 2026. It has less violent crime than 84% of UK towns, and less burglary, vehicle crime and damage than 83%. The yearly rates were 13.3 violent and sexual offences and 5.4 incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 residents.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Leigh
Less crime than many places its size
Of 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Leigh has the 357th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Shotley Gate, Broad Oak (Wealden) and Fishtoft, higher than Helpston, Horsham St Faith and Long Whatton. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
What’s behind Leigh’s grade
A fairly firm grade. Built on 61 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Leigh against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
Crime in Leigh 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 8 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 3 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
357th of 1,214: Leigh among towns its size
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clipsham Rutland | 1,150 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 12 | Plaxtol Kent | 1,137 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 1.2 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 24 | Challock Kent | 1,089 | 5.2 | 3.1 | 2.1 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 77 | Lympne Kent | 1,074 | 9.3 | 2.5 | 2.2 | A+ |
| 78 | Guston Kent | 1,684 | 7.5 | 4.4 | 3.6 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 354 | Helpston Cambridgeshire | 1,249 | 11.2 | 7.5 | 2.1 | A |
| 355 | Horsham St Faith Norfolk | 1,051 | 13 | 5.7 | 1.6 | A |
| 356 | Long Whatton Leicestershire | 1,157 | 9.8 | 8.9 | 2.6 | A |
| 357 | Leigh Kent | 1,104 | 13.3 | 5.4 | 4.6 | A |
| 358 | Winteringham Lincolnshire | 1,012 | 14.8 | 4 | 2 | A |
| 359 | Harpole Northamptonshire | 1,349 | 8.2 | 10.6 | 1.7 | A |
| 360 | West Haddon Northamptonshire | 1,985 | 12.1 | 6.7 | 2 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 1214 | Ingoldmells Lincolnshire | 1,928 | 259 | 64.7 | 57.2 | D− |
Safety letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Leigh, and others in Kent.
5 violent and sexual offences in the last 12 months, against 18 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).
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 5 | 4.5 | 1.5 |
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 4 | 3.6 | 16.6 |
| Other theft | not graded | 3 | 2.7 | 2.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 3 | 2.7 | 1.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 3 | 2.7 | 5.3 |
| Other crime | not graded | 2 | 1.8 | 1.1 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 1 | 0.9 | 3.2 |
| Drugs | not graded | 1 | 0.9 | 0.6 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 1 | 0.9 | 0 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Public order | not graded | 0 | 0 | 2.4 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 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.
No one died in a collision on Leigh’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 5 collisions with injuries inside Leigh in five years. 0 people were killed or seriously injured.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Leigh is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Leigh’s size at the median for UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people would see about 1 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Leigh had 0.
Casualties are counted where the collision happened, not where people lived: a main road through town adds through-traffic, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Seriously injured uses the Department for Transport’s adjusted figures, which even out the police forces’ different ways of recording injuries. There’s no national rate here: more than half of road deaths in England and Wales (58%) happen outside every town’s built-up area. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), 2021–2025.
Collisions police recorded inside Leigh’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Leigh
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leigh | 1,104 | 13.3 | 5.4 | A |
| Hildenborough | 4,943 | 11.3 | 7.5 | A |
| Tonbridge | 36,136 | 30.1 | 13.8 | C |
| Southborough | 9,632 | 24.6 | 9.8 | B− |
| Rusthall and Langton Green | 7,783 | 21.8 | 8.1 | B |
| Royal Tunbridge Wells | 51,215 | 30.7 | 13.1 | C |
| Hadlow | 3,168 | 19.6 | 8 | B |
| Plaxtol | 1,137 | 3.8 | 3.2 | A+ |
Leigh records more graded crime per resident than 1 of its 7 neighbours. Plaxtol, 5.9 miles away, records 3.8 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Leigh’s 13.3.
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 Leigh 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 Leigh
Is Leigh safe?
Police recorded 13.3 violent and sexual offences and 5.4 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Leigh’s built-up area). That earns an A for safety: less crime per resident than 85% of UK towns. Among 1,214 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Leigh is 357th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Leigh?
Police recorded 5 violent and sexual offences in the 12 months to August 2026, against 18 in the 12 months before. With numbers this small, a few crimes change the rate a lot.
What is the most common crime in Leigh?
Vehicle crime: 5 in the 12 months to August 2026. Next came violence & sexual offences (4) and other theft (3), with 3 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Leigh 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 Leigh’s 13.3 and 5.4, 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) · Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions 2021–2025, points inside the built-up-area boundary · 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.