PUB landlord Paul Wright was threatened with a claw hammer when he disturbed raiders who raided three pubs in West Lavington in the early hours of last Thursday.

Mr Wright, who has owned and run the The Bridge Inn pub restaurant for the last two years, was roused shortly before 5am to be confronted by the man.

He said: "We have been here for two years and nothing like this has happened before."

The intruders broke into the pub by smashing a pane of glass in a rear door. Once they had been confronted by Mr Wright they made their getaway.

At the Churchill Arms a little way up the road towards Devizes, personal items were taken from the rooms of bed-and-breakfast guests as they slept. No one at the pub wanted to comment as they are still upset about the crime.

Police are also linking these two offences with a break-in at the Stage Post, the third pub in the village. The doors to the rear function room were forced but nothing was stolen.

Police were quickly on the scene and three people from outside the local area, two men and woman, were arrested. They have been released on police bail pending further inquiries.

Sgt Matt Jones of Devizes police said: "This kind of thing is very unusual, especially in a rural area."

Parish council chairman Bob Giles OBE said: "I am most surprised to hear about these offences. This is a quiet village where things like this very rarely happen. I understand the crimes were perpetrated by people from outside the area and there is very little you can do about that."

National crime figures published this week show that Wiltshire remains the second safest county in England, despite a 14 per cent increase in overall crime, compared with a national average increase of seven per cent.

The number of burglaries increased from 5,835 to 6,242, or seven per cent, but the police say the increase is due to the population responding to their encouragement to report "distraction" burglaries where bogus callers try to trick their way into the homes of elderly and vulnerable people to steal.

The reporting of incidents of violent crime has leapt by 44 per cent in the last year, but only because, under the new National Crime Recording Standard, officers are now obliged to log every small scuffle or incident of "minor thuggery" they encounter.