Student accommodation portal StuRents.com analysed over 500,000 criminal offences across 64 towns and cities, with Bedford witnessing the fifth-least amount of crimes between February 2014 and January 2015.

Executive Dean of Education & Sport at the University of Bedfordshire's, Bedford Campus, Dr Sally Bentley, welcomed the result:

“We are delighted with the results, which state Bedford as being one of the top-five safest student areas in the country.

“We encourage prospective students to attend a forthcoming Open Day and come and see why the town has been rated so highly for themselves.”

The town saw just 92.2 crimes per 1000 residents in student areas, way below the study average of 248.

Sergeant Mark Stewart from Bedfordshire’s Criminal Investigation Department said:

“We strive to drive all crime down and we are very proactive in our response to crimes relating to students in Bedford.

“We have a great rapport with the University of Bedfordshire and have positive relationships with other partner agencies, which all help to keep Bedford a safe place to live.”

Michael Rainsford, Co-Founder of StuRents.com, commented:

“Crime statistics serve as an important metric for students looking to make an informed choice about where to live.

“This year so far has been huge for investment in the student accommodation market. We hope that going forward student safety will be high on the agenda."