Universities in London dominate a league table of crime hotspots.

The Complete University Guide used official police figures to measure rates of violent and sexual offences, burglaries and robberies within three miles of campuses across England and Wales.

King's College London, the Courtauld Institute of Art and University College London (UCL) had the highest rates of crime in their areas, according to the report.

Researchers found 47.65 crime incidents were reported per 1,000 residents around King's College London - rated 16th in the world university rankings last year - between May 2014 and April 2015.

It was followed by the Courtauld Institute with 47.28 reported incidents, and UCL with 47.07.

London institutions took up the 18 highest places, while outside the capital, universities in Manchester and Salford had the highest levels of crimes in their neighbourhoods, the report found.

A King's College London spokesman said the figures included crime reports by all residents, not just students, and serious incidents involving students were "an exception".

The Complete University Guide said it carried out the study because universities were "unable or unwilling" to reveal the rates of crime directly involving student victims, leaving many young people unaware of the risks in their chosen towns or cities.

Principal author Dr Bernard Kingston said: "Most universities, especially those in high crime areas, actively advise students on precautions they should take to avoid becoming the victims of crime.

"But they only monitor crime on their own campuses and many students, especially international students attracted by the strong academic reputations of the UK's universities, are often unaware of the level of crime in the areas around their chosen institutions.

"All prospective students should be able to compare the risks in and near individual institutions with much greater precision. Regrettably, universities are either unable or unwilling to disclose the rates of crime directly affecting their students on campus let alone off campus.

"We urge vice-chancellors and the universities to tell prospective students what their chances of falling victim to crime are, on and off campus."

Researchers measured recorded crimes against anyone, student or non-student, and took professional advice on which offences were most relevant to students.

University or college Burglary Robbery Violence & Sexual Offences Grand Total Kingston 7.51 0.81 13.46 21.77 St Mary's 6.90 1.02 17.22 25.14 Roehampton 8.40 1.28 16.36 26.04 Middlesex 9.52 2.04 17.06 28.63 St George's University of London 8.59 2.01 19.13 29.74 West London 8.14 1.89 20.76 30.78 Brunel 8.85 1.59 22.96 33.40 East London 7.21 3.23 24.26 34.70 Goldsmiths 8.37 3.26 23.70 35.34 Greenwich 7.98 3.28 24.67 35.94 Heythrop College 11.06 3.77 25.90 40.73 Queen Mary 9.25 4.31 27.31 40.87 Imperial College London 11.40 4.18 27.38 42.96 Royal College of Music 11.29 4.20 27.50 42.99 Royal Central School of Speech and Drama 12.03 4.33 27.14 43.49 Royal Veterinary College 12.23 4.85 28.72 45.80 Westminster 11.62 4.98 29.49 46.08 London Metropolitan 11.66 5.08 29.61 46.34 University of the Arts London 11.33 5.16 30.01 46.51 SOAS 11.70 5.15 29.83 46.68 Royal Academy of Music 11.73 5.18 29.80 46.71 London South Bank 10.59 5.22 30.97 46.78 London School of Economics 11.27 5.26 30.32 46.84 City 11.30 5.23 30.42 46.95 Birkbeck 11.72 5.22 30.00 46.95 University College London 11.76 5.23 30.07 47.07 Courtauld Institute of Art 11.25 5.25 30.78 47.28 King's College London 10.96 5.31 31.38 47.65