Glover’s Court business owners are demanding an apology after the street was ‘unfairly’ named the most crime-ridden place in England.

Figures released earlier suggested more than 150 crimes and anti-social incidents took place there in December alone.

Shop owners on the street have refuted this though and Chief Superintendent James Lee says the numbers are inaccurate.

“The figures do not do it justice; it is actually a safe place to be. I do not accept these figures,” he said.

Police claim the figures relate to the whole city centre, and that only three crimes happened on Glover’s Court.

John Corrigan, who owns Alan Joyce hairdressers on the street, thinks the area has been unfairly named as dangerous.

“There are lots of clubs and people enjoying themselves but there are no threats here.”

“It has tarnished the name of Glover’s Court and this is bad publicity, it is not good,” he said.

The information was published as part of the Home Office’s new online crime map, which cost £300,000 to set-up.

It aims to give people living in each area the “power to see that something is being done about crime” according to Home Secretary Theresa May.

It shows that 152 crimes were committed in December, including 44 violent incidents, a robbery and a burglary, among others.

But Lancashire Constabulary’s Ch Supt Lee argued the opposite, saying: “All crime was actually down 4.5% during the month of December in the city centre.”

Jane Moss, who has worked on Glover’s Court for eight years, argues it is actually much safer than most people think.

“Security here is great; there are bouncers on all the doors of the clubs. If there is trouble it is at night but it is really not as bad as they say.”

A spokesman for the Home Office said: “The information is provided by local forces and we simply input the raw data.”