CUMBRIA has seen a sharp rise in the number of people reporting hate crimes to the police, with a 77 per cent rise in reporting of alleged hate crimes relating to sexual orientation.

The county’s annual report from police and crime commissioner Richard Rhodes shows a 36 per cent rise in the reprting of hate crimes.

Mr Rhodes said: “This reflects our drive to encourage victims of hate crime to come forward, and a lot of proactive work has been undertaken over the year to facilitate this.

“For example I have funded a number of awareness raising hate crime workshops throughout the county.”

The most notable increase in the report is in relation to sexual orientation hate crime, which has seen a 77 per cent rise.

The hate crime rise comes alongside a 15 per cent reduction in anti-social behaviour during the same period.

Commenting after the publication of the report, Mr Rhodes said: “This annual report outlines some of the achievements and progress that has been made against the priorities in my plan during the last year in tackling crime and antisocial behaviour, including the progress made in response to the review I commissioned on services for victims.

“The introduction of a dedicated Victims Advocate has now been achieved, along with the launch of the ‘Cumbria Together’ website, aimed at providing advice and guidance on support services for victims in the county.

“As we go into this next year, I am looking forward to seeing the county-wide CCTV network go live soon, and the new Barrow police station will open later this year.

“We will also see the opening of the Cumbria based Sexual Assault Referral Centre later this year, which will provide a base from which support services for victims of sexual assault will be co-ordinated and will offer a first point of contact for victims to get advice about help available.”