The Christmas period was a busy time for criminals last year, with pharmacies across the UK experiencing break-ins, assaults and even fires during the holiday season, C+D can reveal.

There were 15 incidents of burglaries and shoplifting in pharmacies between Christmas 2012 and new year, according to data obtained by C+D through Freedom of Information requests to 46 police forces.

Jade Pharmacy in Hounslow, London was the worst hit. It was completely destroyed when a fire swept through the premises on Boxing Day last year after a burglary, leaving pharmacist Bal Dhaliwal with thousands of pounds worth of damage and loss. The contents of the controlled drugs cabinet in the pharmacy, as well as perfumes and razors, were taken. A man was later convicted for handling stolen goods and sentenced to six months in prison.

An assault in a pharmacy in Cheshire on Christmas eve left a victim nursing cuts and bruises to their face	More from C+D's crime special Pharmacists attacked with knives, firearms – and a sandwich Crime map - see how your area fared Crime against pharmacies down in 2012
	Further north, an assault in a pharmacy in Cheshire on Christmas eve left a victim nursing cuts and bruises to their face, according to police.

In Staffordshire, there was a burglary in a pharmacy at 2am on December 27. At the same time, a burglar was targeting a pharmacy in the Devon and Cornwall area.

In Leicestershire, there was a shoplifting incident on the same day, with the offender later charged. Police also reported four cases of fraud and forgery on December 28 and charged four people. The week was rounded off in Leicestershire with two people getting a court summons for shoplifting at 4pm on December 29.

Police in Northern Ireland were called out to a burglary on December 28. In Suffolk, a would-be burglar removed the wire cover from the pharmacy's rear window over the new year period, leaving broken glass around the premises. 

In Northumbria, pharmacy staff were left distressed because of shouting on the premises on new year's eve. And 2013 started off with a "wounding" incident in a pharmacy in Surrey on new year's day, although police provided no more detail.

Overall the number of robberies, burglaries and attempted burglaries in UK pharmacies dropped slightly from 539 in 2011 to 498 last year. Incidents of violent crime also fell, with 356 cases reported in 2012 compared with 372 in 2011. Shoplifting still accounted for most crime in the sector. 

Read more about the aftermath of the fire at Jade Pharmacy in Julia Gregory's blog published in the C+D's Saturday Review.

And see whether levels of crime increased or fell in your area using our interactive map.