A video and audio recording apparatus includes a recording medium that records base data therein and a control unit that starts and stops destructive editing in response to an instruction to start and stop destructive editing received through an operation unit. When part of the base data is deleted, the control unit writes, using management information for managing a physical area of the base data in the recording medium on the per predetermined recording unit basis, information indicating that the physical area in which the deleted part of the base data was recorded is defined as a reserved area on the per predetermined recording unit basis to the management information. When the edit data is input in response to the instruction to start editing, the edit data is overwritten into the physical area managed using the management information and defined as a reserved area on a preferential basis.