It's official - London has seven of the most dangerous rail stations in Britain.

The revelation from the Department for Transport came yesterday in answer to a question in parliament from the Shadow Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling.

Victoria Station tops the local list, where 71 assaults were recorded during the year.

Waterloo and London Bridge are not far behind with 53 and 45 assaults respectively.

You'd still have to travel north to get to the most dangerous rail station in the country: a whopping 159 cases of assault were reported for Leeds Central Station in the last year.

Holding the Government responsible, Grayling said: "What these figures show is that in many parts of the country, passengers are far more likely to get mugged than they were five years ago. It really is time the Government got to grips with the law and order problem on our public transport system."

Transport security has been a contentious issue recently, with several high-profile deaths occurring on the transport system within the last twelve months, including that of lawyer Tom ap Rhys Pryce, who was murdered at Kensal Green, northwest London.

The Department for Transport has tried to deflect criticism by insisting it has the tools to tackle crime.

A spokesman for the department said: "The British Transport Police's budget has increased by 25 per cent and the number of officers has increased by 11 per cent in the last year. There are thousands of additional CCTV cameras on the network and stations are better lit . . . We have given railways staff powers to tackle antisocial behaviour."

Violence at rail stations has reached 1,270 this year, up 80 per cent from 2001.

However, the Department for Transport pointed out that overall crime has decreased 3 per cent since 2004.

"Overall levels of crime are low relative to the billion passenger journeys being made each year. However, just one incident is too many and safety must remain a top priority for the rail industry," their spokesman said.

The ten worst stations

  • Leeds Central 159
  • London Victoria 71
  • London Waterloo 53
  • London Bridge 45
  • Birmingham New Street 40
  • Wimbledon 39
  • Clapham Junction 35
  • London King's Cross 32
  • London Liverpool Street 31
  • Cardiff Central 30