REPORTED sex offences against children have more than tripled in the past four years.

Shocking new statistics reveal that offences against boys and girls under the age of 16, as recorded by Cumbria Constabulary, have dramatically increased since 2012/13.

The reports of rapes and sexual assaults against boys has seen the greatest rise, from 18 to 82 – a 350 per cent increase – in 2015/16, according to new figures from the Office of National Statistics.

Sexual offences against girls of the same age have risen threefold, from 49 to 146.

Cumbria’s police and crime commissioner, Peter McCall, said the force must not shy away from the figures and is working to ensure more victims come forward.

He said "I suspect a lot of these cases are in some way a positive because it is people having the confidence to report and come forward.

"If people don’t come forward and people don’t report these crimes, we have got no chance of catching the perpetrator and stopping the crime."

The greatest rises were recorded in rapes of boys under 16 (from one to 14); sexual assaults against boys under 13 (from six to 32) and rapes of girls under 13 (from 10 to 38).

The most commonly reported sexual offence last year was rape of women over 16, which rose from 62 reported rapes in 2012/13 to 141 in 2015/16.

Police are keen to stress that they do not believe the increase represents a trend in sex offences, but rather that the force has improved how it records sex crimes.

High-profile cases involving celebrities like Jimmy Savile have also encouraged victims to speak up.

Mr McCall hopes more people will now report sex crimes to The Bridgeway, Cumbria’s new expert centre in Penrith for the whole of the county, which supports victims of rape and sexual assault.

More than 300 people, about half of whom were children and young people, have already accessed The Bridgeway since it launched in December.