Personally, I think that CREST is the better way to go. The shares are registered to you, kept in your name and you get all the correspondence diret from the company.
Your broker should let you have a statement at least once a year confirming your holdings and if you are worried, you can always email the registrars to confirm.
if you are worried about the broker stealing your shares, then there is nothing I can tell you to alleviate your worry. Only you can sort that out. Why do you not trust him? If there is no trust, then the relationship is flawed. If your holding is raided by a rogue broker, then you have some protection from the compensation fund. If a rogue broker in a large firm, the firm may cover the losses to avoid bad publicity.
Morrogh case showed the danger of holding shares in nominee account. For what it is worth, I think the decision of the High Court was wrong, but then I am not a lawyer or judge.