The number of cases of modern slavery referred to police in Lancashire has risen over the last year, with almost half of them being children.

Latest Home Office figures show 145 potential modern slavery cases were referred to the police for investigation in the year to June – and of them, 61 were aged 17 and under.

The total number is up from 129 the year before.

Across the rest of the UK, modern slavery referrals for suspected victims have also risen.

There were 14,600 in the year to June, and 5,800 of them were children – up from 11,600 and 5,200 respectively the year before.

The rise in cases comes as the Home Office revealed plans to restrict such claims to stop alleged "abuse" of the system.

Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman received criticism for attributing the increase in modern slavery victims to migrants who were "gaming the system" by claiming asylum in the UK as victims of slavery, and reclassifying the crime as an "illegal immigration and asylum" issue, rather than a safeguarding one.

Potential cases are flagged through the National Referral Mechanism, which allows first responders, including local authorities, charities and certain government departments, to refer them to police forces for investigation.

Revealing plans to crack down on what she sees as fraudulent claims for asylum under the Modern Slavery Act, Ms Braverman said recently: "The truth is that many of them are not modern slaves and their claims of being trafficked are lies."

Since the new Home Office was formed, modern slavery has been listed as an "illegal immigration and asylum" issue overseen by the immigration minister, rather than under the duties of the safeguarding minister as before.

This has resulted in anti-slavery charities calling on the Government to stop "distracting attention from the real criminals".

The action came ahead of Anti-Slavery Day on October 18, which is hosted by a range of anti-slavery charities and organisations, including Hope For Justice, and raises awareness of the 50million people in slavery around the world.

Hope for Justice said Ms Braverman's reclassification of modern slavery is "highly regressive" and the shifting of responsibility will exacerbate the issue.

Meanwhile, anti-slavery charity Unseen said the numbers show there is still a long way to go to eradicate slavery in the UK and called on the Government to "stop conflating modern slavery and immigration".

Chief executive of Unseen, Andrew Wallis, said: "The Government has provided no evidence that asylum seekers are gaming the system, and by putting out such spurious claims without facts or context is verging on irresponsible.

"The result is we’re treating vulnerable people as criminals when they most need our help, and distracting attention from the real criminals behind slavery and trafficking."

The Home Office said it is "committed to tackling the heinous crime of modern slavery" and that the National Referral Mechanism will continue to function in the same way.

But a spokesperson for the Home Office added: "It is clear people are abusing our system when they have no right to be here in order to frustrate their removal."

Det Sgt Stu Peall of Lancashire Constabulary's human trafficking and modern slavery team said: “Modern slavery is a real issue, with those involved being exploited and controlled against their will for personal or commercial gain.

“The perpetrators who commit this type of crime prey on vulnerable people, taking away their freedom and leaving them with no control over their own lives, or treated as nothing more than a commodity.

“Lancashire Constabulary is committed to investigating offences of modern slavery and we regularly carry out days or weeks of action, with surge activity focusing on arresting those responsible and safeguarding victims. This is also part and parcel of our daily business and is an issue we take very seriously.

“We welcome any community intelligence that can help to identify where modern slavery is taking place. If you have any information about suspicious activity, please let us know. We take all reports seriously and will investigate thoroughly.

“We also want to offer help and support for people who think they may be victims of this type of crime.”

You can either contact the police on 101, call 999 in an emergency or report information online at Lancashire Police's website.

If you do not wish to speak to police directly there are charities that can help you, anonymously if you wish.