A survey showing two out of three people in Croydon feel crime is rising has been branded as flawed because the results were based on a very small sample.

The London-wide questionnaire, conducted by the London Assembly Conservative group, was sent to 110,000 people but just 6,550 responses were received.

The survey revealed that more than 45 per cent of people from Croydon were not satisfied with the police’s service when they reported a crime, and about one in three families had been a victim of crime.

Andrew Pelling, Conservative London Assembly member for Croydon and Sutton, said: “We hear there are more police on the street, but the truth is, especially in suburban London, police do not have enough resources, and their time is tied down dealing with paperwork.” Croydon police declined to comment but the council’s cabinet member for crime and public protection, Councillor Paul Smith, said the results were flawed.

He said: “The Tory group survey is deficient in its scope and adds nothing to what we already know. It also failed to target those hard to reach groups that feel so vulnerable to crime.”