Police have paid personal visits to an extra 40 crime victims a week as part of a 10-month scheme to reassure the public.

The aim of the ambitious pilot was to visit everyone in south Oxfordshire who reported a crime.

Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in the area saw 1,760 victims who would previously have received just a letter.

The scheme has proved so successful it will now be rolled out across Oxfordshire in the next six weeks.

Senior officers admitted the promise to visit victims was difficult to fulfil, but said the move had increased public reassurance and led to a drop in minor crime like criminal damage.

Supt Andy Murray, the former south Oxfordshire commander who launched the pilot, said: "It is not about reducing or solving crime — it is more about the quality of service to the victim.

"From a feedback point of view, people are very happy to see their local police community support officers.

"It is done for reassurance and to pass on crime reduction advice. This is a lot better than a bland letter landing through the letter box.

"We have had a lot of positive feedback — so much so that the pilot will now go force-wide."

A survey of crime victims showed a 10 per cent increase — to 74 per cent — in satisfaction with police actions.

The pilot began last November and was initially due to last six months, but was extended when it proved a success.

The majority of visits were made to victims of criminal damage, car crime and shed or garage burglaries — crimes where an investigating officer would not have been sent before.

PCSOs across Oxfordshire are to be told to make visiting victims more of a priority.

Mr Murray, who will become police commander for Oxford next month, said: "It hasn't been easy — we have to admit that.

"The problem is the times when people want a visit have to meet with times when PCSOs are on duty."

But he added: "It is worth doing. It's a win-win situation.

"We have seen a reduction in criminal damage, which is due to a number of factors, one of which is having a visible police presence in areas where crime is being committed."

In the past six months, criminal damage has fallen 21 per cent from 819 reports to 645, compared to the same period before the pilot.

The Oxford Mail revealed police attended just six in every 10 crimes reported during a week in March.

Former Chief Supt Shaun Morley, ex-Oxford commander, pledged to increase the number of victims visited by police.