T IN the Park has cemented its status one of the most crime-ridden major music festivals in Britain, sparking new calls for a clampdown on disorder at the flagship event.

Figures show that recorded crime levels at the festival, which has come under fresh scrutiny following the suspected drug related deaths of two teenagers and the alleged rape of an 18-year-old woman, dwarf those of far larger gatherings south of the border.

Organisers said that there were 429 recorded crimes and 54 arrests at the 70,000-capacity, three-day Perthshire festival over the weekend, with offences including the theft of an ATM machine containing a "significant" amount of cash.

Read more: Police investigate rape of teenage girl at T in the Park campsite

In contrast, crime plummeted at this year's Glastonbury festival to the lowest levels in its 45 year history. Just 203 offences were reported with 40 arrests made, despite the event attracting around 175,000 revellers and staff to Somerset. Police also hailed a "relaxed, family-friendly" atmosphere at last month's Isle of Wight festival, where just 85 offences were recorded.

T in the Park said it was "impossible" to compare festivals due to different approaches to policing. Insiders insisted that a more pro-active approach, which includes deploying more officers and including an on-site facility for reporting crime skewed the figures. It was also argued that T in the Park attracted a younger demographic than some festivals south of the border, partially explaining the statistics.

Superintendent Conrad Trickett, the Police Scotland day commander for the event, said that "in general" the event was good natured with festival goers "well behaved and enjoying themselves".

Read more: T in the Park sets up drugs amnesty after deaths of two teenagers

The figures emerged as T in the Park was forced to deny deleting critical comments from its Facebook page. An alternative page, T in the Park Truth, saw music fans share horror stories after attending the festival.

Scores of pictures posted on the page show music fans lying drunk in the mud, with numerous vidoes showing loutish behaviour and drunken antics throughout the weekend.

Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Liz Smith said it was clear that there were major issues at the festival. She added: "After the problems at last year’s festival many people gave DF Concerts the benefit of the doubt that they could sort the problems for this year.

"Sadly this has clearly not been the case, and this year’s tragic incidents will once again raise questions over public safety at T in the Park. In particular, many people will wonder whether organisers are taking every measure they can to ensure the safety of those attending the event."

Read more: T in the Park: Police praise revellers as the number of festival arrests falls

At Download Festival in Derbyshire, Leicestershire Police recorded just 42 crimes this year, a record low at the UK’s biggest heavy metal rock festival, which was expected to attract 80,000 people over a long weekend. Last year's V Festival saw just 70 crimes recorded at its Staffordshire site, with Essex Police making 63 arrests, all but 10 of which were drug related, and ejecting 248 people from its sister event in Chelmsford.

According to a report submitted by Police Scotland to Perth and Kinross Council regarding last year's T in the Park, there were 44 assaults including six serious assaults and a sexual assault among more than 400 crimes recorded in 2015.

At least year's Glastonbury meanwhile, there were just 12 crimes that were classed as violence against the person, according to Avon and Somerset Police.

Festival promoter DF concerns last year received a controversial £150,000 Scottish Government hand-out following its move to Strathallan, which was justified by SNP culture secretary Fiona Hyslop on the grounds of the "cultural and reputational" benefits T in the Park brought to Scotland.

A T in the Park spokeswoman said: "Scotland has a very different legal landscape from the rest of the UK. This means our policing strategy is different from other events and it makes comparison between them impossible. Our crime figures reflect the fact that we work closely in partnership with Police Scotland and our stewards to ensure a proactive and robust zero tolerance approach is taken to identifying and dealing with crime.

"We believe that accurately recording all crime gives us the best understanding of our audience profile and allows us to put in place measures to maximise public safety.”

"It’s important to recognise that the vast majority of the 70,000 people that come to the festival each year do so with a positive attitude and go home without having encountered any crime at all."