HEREFORDSHIRE has one of the best success rates in the country for calls to an anonymous police line resulting in arrests.

An arrest is made for every 4.8 calls made in Herefordshire to Crimestoppers, a confidential 24-hour police hotline allowing members of the public to report crime.

Between April 2006 and March 2007, 53 people were arrested and charged with offences from 257 calls made by Herefordshire residents providing information on which the police were able to act.

"This is one of the highest rates in the country and the more people that call, the more information can be provided about all sorts of crime ranging from murder to indecency, and from robbery to burglary," said Neil Tipton, a member of the West Mercia Crimestoppers board.

The scheme has been a success across the West Mercia area with £76,250 worth of drugs seized and £136,935 worth of property recovered last year thanks to Crimestoppers. It has also helped to capture criminals in high-profile cases.

This year, between January 1 and March 31, police have recovered £66,223 worth of property and seized £17,170 worth of drugs across West Mercia as a result of calls to Crimestoppers.

Callers can ring anonymously seven days a week in complete confidence that they will not be identified.

"It's just a simple case of picking up the phone and telling us what you know, not who you are," Mr Tipton said.

"We don't record the sex of the caller or their ethnicity and we don't ask where the caller is from.

"Crimestoppers is for people who don't want to speak directly to police or go to court to give evidence."

Many callers ring Crimestoppers because they are frightened of retribution, have information about a relative or employer, or they may be criminals themselves.

Crimestoppers can be called on 0800 555111 and a visit to www.crimestoppers-uk.org will also provide more information.