More than 60 people were charged with crimes and nearly £300,000 in illegal drugs and stolen property seized in Shropshire in just a year thanks to charity Crimestoppers, latest figures have revealed.

The figures for April 2007 to April 2008 show 44 people were arrested and charged in the Shropshire police division area with 22 in the Telford & Wrekin area as a direct result of calls made to the organisation.

It comes as a Shropshire detective hailed an operation against suspected burglars and drug dealers.

Figures from Crimestoppers show more than £213,000 in stolen property and more than £74,000 in drugs was recovered thanks to people contacting the confidential service.

Councillor Tony Durnell, a member of the charity, said the figures did not take into account a major drugs bust in Telford last month, following a tip-off.

More than 700 cannabis plants with a street value of over £300,000, were recovered from a property, he said One person was arrested and charged.

Councillor Durnell said other cases in which Crime- stoppers assisted included an assault on an elderly man, and a suspected drink-driver leaving a county pub.

He said: “We are an independent charity helping to find criminals and help solve crimes. We have a confidential phone number, 0800 555 111, that people can call to pass on information about crime,”

His comments came as police revealed more than a dozen arrests were made and thousands of pounds’ worth of drugs and stolen property were seized in Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Whitchurch and Oswestry, as part of Operation Protect.

Detective Inspector Gavin Kinrade, who led the week-long operation, said: “I am delighted with the success of last week, which saw a large quantity of suspected controlled drugs seized, numerous arrests and suspected stolen items recovered across Shropshire.

“Our work to deal with those committing drug and burglary-related offences is ongoing.”

By Russell Roberts