Swansea has been named the second most dangerous place for students to live in.

A report commissioned by StuRents has uncovered the most dangerous places in the UK to be an undergraduate by comparing the number of recorded incidents per thousand residents.

Having documented 535,468 crimes across 64 university towns and cities in England and Wales, the report measured all recorded crime in areas popular for student accommodation.

It concluded that Brighton was the most dangerous city for a student to live, followed by Swansea, Stoke on Trent and Newcastle.

Swansea undergraduates were found to be living in the second worst area for recorded crime with 633 incidents per 1000 residents.

A site commissioned by the Home Office which shows crime statistics according to post code showed that 81 crimes were reported within a 1 mile radius of the university in February this year alone.

The most affected sites were Gwydr Square, Victoria Avenue, Uplands Crescent, Brynmill Crescent and Gorse Lane. Anti-social behaviour was the cause of most reports but was closely followed by reports of theft, burglary and shop-lifting. The third most common crime was drug activity.

Swansea students paid testament to this with personal accounts of theft and burglary during their university experience.

Clarissa Purdy said: “Our house got broken into in the student village in 1st year during exam week while we were all asleep. Police gathered fingerprints and shoe prints and saw the intruders on CCTV but I don’t think that they caught them because we haven’t heard anything since.”

Russel Flynn said: “Last year while living in the student village I had my laptop and headphones nicked, so I would say it is pretty bad.”

“My boyfriend’s car was stolen last week and since then I can’t say I feel particularly safe!”, said Jessica Wendz.

In  most cases the crimes were non-violent, however there were some exceptions. “A former flatmate of mine got mugged at knifepoint walking from the student village,” said Rachel Henley.

Francesca Hobson summarized: ” I think there is a lot of theft in Swansea. I know two people who have had their bikes stolen despite being locked up. I myself have misplaced my purse and thankfully had it returned to me, but not before the money had been emptied out of it.

“I would say I am not afraid of crime but it’s definitely something to keep an eye out for.”

Other students have jumped to the city’s defense in particular comparing their experiences to that of their home towns.

Becca Kinsella said: “I personally find it much safer than my home town High Wycombe which ironically is listed as 2nd safest! I definitely know of several students who agree with me.”

Jordan Hutchinson agreed: “I wouldn’t say I feel perfectly safe, but I don’t fear for my life when I’m walking about at night or anything like that. And I come from Birmingham, so it’s not that bad. I’ve never been told or witnessed a crime since I’ve moved here to be fair.”

“I don’t think it’s that bad to be honest. I feel a lot safer walking around in Swansea than I do when I visit other, bigger cities,” said Emily Godding.

However Chief Superintendent for South Wales, Phil Davies said that there was a actually a low crime rate in Swansea and that these figures don’t accurately represent safety in the city.

He said that crime in the city as a whole was 10% of that recorded in popular student accommodation areas with just 67 incidents per 1000 residents.

Swansea-born student Caitlin Sara Lockett was concerned that “the statistics that are generally associated with crime in the Swansea area are somewhat augmented in comparison to other cities around the UK due to the postcode SA1 which houses the entirety of the city’s nightclubs.”

Certainly, crime on Wind Street contributed heavily to statistics calculated in 2010 in which it had the second highest number of incidents reported to police out of any street in Wales and England.

However many students have said that they have little faith in the police’s ability to combat crime in student areas and police attitudes when dealing with students affected by crime.

Chanté Lee said: “I had two motorbikes stolen from right outside my house in as many years despite my own security alarms on it. Both times there were no witnesses and the police seemed happy to leave it after a week or so.”

Swansea University and University of Trinity Saint David were keen to dispute safety concerns and have urged students to consider the bigger picture.

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