Homophobic and transphobic hate crime recorded by police in Lancashire during the first eight months of 2021 has risen sharply.

New analysis shows the police recorded 423 sexual orientation hate crimes in 2019, 456 in 2020 and 346 from January to August 2021.

For transphobic hate crimes, the force was not able to provide exact figures for every month due to low numbers returned, but based on those months for which data was provided, at least 45 transphobic hate crimes were recorded in 2019, 68 in 2020 and 62 in January-August 2021.

The highest number of sexual orientation hate crimes in a calendar month across this period was 66 in July 2021.

A total of 198 violence against the person sexual orientation hate crimes were recorded in 2019, with 236 in 2020 and 174 from January to August 2021.

At least 20 violent transphobic hate crimes were recorded in 2020 and 30 in January-August 2021.

It was not possible to provide exact figures for the months of 2019 due to low numbers returned.

The highest number of violent sexual orientation hate crimes in a calendar month was 35 in July 2021.

A spokesperson for Lancashire police said: "Everyone in our county should be allowed to live their lives free from harassment and the fear of hate crime.

"Hate crime causes great distress to its victims and we are committed to investigating all crimes and incidents motivated by hate, supporting victims and bringing offenders to justice.

"A hate crime is a criminal offence which is thought by the victim, or anybody else, to have been committed against a person because of their age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

"A hate incident is behaviour which is thought by the victim, or anybody else, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on someone’s age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation, gender identity, alternative subculture or disability."

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Across the UK, these hate crimes rose sharply after lockdown restrictions were eased, hitting their highest monthly level since the pandemic began.

Restrictions were eased in stages, with almost all lifted by the end of June – the month that saw the highest volume of homophobic (2,389) and transphobic (371) offences for any calendar month across all three years.

At least 14,670 sexual orientation hate crime offences were recorded from January to August 2021, compared with 11,841 in the same period of 2020 and 10,817 in 2019.

While offences averaged 1,456 a month from January to April this year, they jumped to 2,211 on average from May to August.

There is a similar trend for transphobic offences, which averaged 208 a month from January to April, but 324 for May to August.

Charity, Stonewall, described the rise as “worrying” and said the figures are a “stark reminder” that LGBTQ+ people are “still at risk of attack because of who we are”.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) strongly encouraged victims to come forward and said officers are highly trained and will “treat everyone with respect and dignity and handle cases sensitively”.

If you have witnessed or been a victim of hate crime you make a report online, on 101, or by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

In an emergency always dial 999.