London - Britain's tourist image as a green and pleasant land took a battering yesterday when crime figures portrayed it as a nation where booze-fuelled violence is increasing.
From rape to racism, assault to battery, the violence came in many forms and in many places.
The government statistics for England and Wales showed a 16 per cent jump in violent crime in the year to March and a 26 per cent leap in robberies, mainly street muggings.
"It seems beyond doubt that England particularly has a severe and continuing problem with a consistent current of aggression and violence," said the Home Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, the minister in charge of law and order.