LABOUR has claimed that the number of crimes left unsolved by police in the North-west rose by almost 50,000 in three years.

Using Home Office figures, the party said in the year ending March 31 2015 260,571 out of 468,393 investigations (56 per cent) were recorded by the region's five forces as 'investigation complete no suspect identified'.

This rose in the year to March 31 2017 to 310,155 out of 573,548 (54 per cent), an increase of 49,584 unsolved crimes.

The figures for Lancashire Police were 92,646 recorded crimes of which 56 per cent (51,849) were recorded as 'investigation complete no suspect identified' in the year to March 31 2015 rising by 5,141 to 57,000 unsolved out of 107,610 recorded crimes (56 per cent) in the 12 months to March 31 2017.

Shadow Policing Minister Louise Haigh released the analysis today after a leaked government document appeared to contradict Home Secretary Amber Rudd's claim falling numbers of police officers were not linked to rising violent crime

The Sheffield Heeley Labour MP said: “The Tories claim the police have the resources they need, but these figures would suggest otherwise.

“You can’t do security on the cheap. By failing to properly invest in policing, this Conservative government is threatening community safety and letting down the victims of crime.”

A Lancashire Police spokeswoman declined to comment.