Hundreds of criminals in Hampshire have been snared thanks to the power of social media.

Last year a total of 413 criminals were arrested and charged as a result of thousands of calls to Crimestoppers from people with vital information for police.

Anonymous information to the charity from the region rose by eight per cent in 2013 to 2,511, with 58 per cent of those called leading to positive outcomes for officers.

The charity has found that last year over a third of a million people contacted them through social media – a similar number to those contacting them via the more traditional hotline number.

This resulted in 101,103 pieces of useful information being passed onto law enforcement, leading to 6,242 criminals arrested and charged.

An example of the success the charity has had thanks to the use of social media is when it joined forces with the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) to clamp down on “crash for cash” scams after criminals targeted unsuspecting motorists with staged crashes in order to make claims against them.

These crimes are costing policyholders an estimated £390 million per year, prompting the IFB to work with Crimestoppers to find these fraudsters and encourage people to contact the Cheatline anonymously.

As a result of the social media campaign information on crash for cash rose by 53 per cent in just three months.

Julia Hughes, Crimestoppers’ regional manager for Hampshire and Isle of Wight, said: “Although we cannot take information about crime directly through social media as this would compromise the anonymity of the individual, it is a highly effective platform through which to inform people.

“Social media allows us to drive people swiftly and safely to the Anonymous Online Form hosted on our website where they can pass on information about crime.

“Working alongside our trusted partners, we will continue to build on the work that we do in local areas and look at new ways of engaging with the public to generate information anonymously and empower these communities and individuals in the fight against crime.”