Police have provided assurances to the community following a spike in reported crime between January and February this year.

We recently reported that community councillors raised concerns at a major increase in the number of incidents reported to local police.

A total of 228 incidents in Largs and the surrounding area were reported to Police Scotland in the four weeks from January 15 to February 13 - compared to 144 during the same period last year.

Last month, Sergeant Donald Fisher told the meeting that he would go away and assess the level of calls to see is there were any noticeable patterns or reasons as to the sudden rise.

Largs and Millport Weekly News:

Addressing the community council in their March meeting, Sgt Fisher said: "I looked at the calls that came in and there was a lot of weather related calls, duplicate incidents, and there were 10 incidents stemming from a set of traffic lights not working at the bottom of Haylie Brae.

"That is nearly one in 20 calls for the month, so the amount of calls in a month isn't always indicative of a criminality trend."

In relation to a higher amount of assaults listed in the past month's crime reporting period of between mid-February and mid-March, which saw a total of six incidents reported, Sgt Fisher explained: "We are getting a number of reports of youth assaults, and it would appear that youth disorder is picking up a bit and we are getting more calls about it.

"We are working closely with the school, and also keeping an eye on kids coming up on trains and buses from outwith the Largs area.

"It is something we are keen not to let get out of hand and something we are working on, and that is why we are seeing a few more incidents recorded on the system."

Police also say that they are continuing to be pro-active, visiting shops and businesses in Largs town centre, including vape shops.

Sgt Fisher said: "We are continuing to be pro-active and visiting pubs and shops that sell vapes, as well as trading standards paying a visit, and we do not have an issue with the main vape shops. Vaping is a societal issue, and on the whole, Largs is not too bad."

Concerns were also raised at the last meeting in terms of descriptions of suspects not being given out by police.

Sgt Fisher explained that the situation going forward is 'unlikely to change', as it comes down to court cases, and identifying a potential criminal.

He said a description given to the public could have an adverse effect in terms of it being a 'fair trial' if a person has been identified and 'everyone knows who it is and presumes they are guilty'.