Stratford is a magnet for crime and anti-social behaviour according to new police figures which show more offences have been commmitted there than anywhere else in the UK.

Scotland Yard crime maps reveal 3,440 offences - 6.7 crimes a day - have been recorded within the last 18 months in Meridian Square, E15 1AZ, the main transport hub for the area which is also the gateway to Europe’s largest indoor shopping centre - Westfield Stratford City - and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

The Mail on Sunday used location data from the Home Office data with the Met’s crime maps to break the figures down by postcode.

Shoplifting is the most common problem with 500 incidents from January 2012 to June 2013 while Anti-Social Behaviour comes in a close second with 452 offences.

Meridian Square is also the worst spot for robbery as 52 instances have been reported to the police over the same period.

The area saw a record 291 offences in January which increased dramatically from 73 in the same month in 2012.

Newham Council and the Metropolitan Police spoke of the huge numbers of people passing through the area in connection with the figures 47 million visitors to Westfield, 27 million to the Stratford Centre and 100 million using Stratford station.

Around 160,000 people shop at Westfield every day, and 12 events at the Olympic Park have attracted an extra 660,000 visitors to the area.

Cllr Richard Crawford, cabinet member for community affairs who represents Stratford and New Town ward, said: “We have a zero tolerance approach to crime and anti-social behaviour in Stratford and across Newham.

“It simply won’t be tolerated in any shape or form. Safety remains our residents’ number one concern and we are investing more in making Newham safer.”

He added that the Council has paid for 46 police officers and it continues to work with police and partners to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.

Stratford is an exception to the rule, according to a Met spokesperson, who said crime in London has fallen by 5.5 per cent since last year and the number of robberies in Newham have also decreased by 5 per cent.

They added: “We fully support crime mapping as a valuable tool to keep the public better informed about crime and able to hold the police and partners to account and take steps to protect themselves from the crimes which affect their neighbourhoods.”