More police officers on the beat and a series of crime-tackling measures are helping to make Croydon town centre feel safer.

Initiatives funded and organised by Croydon Business Improvement District (Croydon BID), the company which represents and is funded by town centre businesses, have contributed to a dramatic fall in crime and helped to attract more visitors.

A survey by Keep Britain Tidy revealed 92 percent of daytime visitors felt safe in the town centre, an increase on last year.

In addition, the Metropolitan Police have recorded a 10 percent decrease in town centre reported crime over the last year, plus significant falls in shoplifting.

Croydon BID funds an extra five police officers patrolling the town centre, which are match funded by the Met Police creating a town centre team of 22.

BID has also organised Business Watch and Pub Watch, which sees information shared about known offenders in order to ban them from the town centre.

Inspector Simon Ellingham of the Metropolitan Police, said: "The additional town centre police constables funded by Croydon BID contribute to visitor confidence and are a deterrent to anti-social behaviour and crime."

Other initiatives to make the town centre more pleasant are also proving successful. Last year's Croydon BID's efforts to clean the streets of chewing gum resulted in a 46 percent reduction in waste gum on town centre streets.

BID have also installed nearly 200 hanging baskets over the summer and entered the town centre into this year's prestigious London in Bloom Competition.

Ros Morgan, Chief Executive of Croydon BID, said: "While these results are enormously satisfying, we recognise that there is absolutely no room for complacency.

"There is still a huge amount of work to be done to satisfactorily address continuing concerns over safety, cleanliness and the overall appearance of the town centre."