REPORTS of rape and other sexual offences have soared by a fifth across Yorkshire and the Humber over the past year, new figures show.

The rise is in line with record figures across England and Wales, with 67,805 incidents recorded in the year to the end of June, including 22,116 for rape, a rise of 21 per cent.

But in West Yorkshire, the rise is much lower at five per cent, with police attributing the figure, 6,652, to increased confidence among victims willing to come forward with historic allegations.

Figures compiled by the Office of National Statistics showed that overall crime across West Yorkshire fell by four per cent across the year, ahead of the regional average for Yorkshire and the Humber of just one per cent, the same as the national average.

There were 1,418 more victims of violent crime in the year to June however, with the number of murder victims in West Yorkshire almost doubling from 15 to 29.

The figures highlighted there were more than 6,000 fewer victims of crime across the county, with significant reductions in drugs offences, down 15 per cent, robbery, down ten per cent, and criminal damage and arson, down by nine per cent.

Temporary Deputy Chief Constable John Robins, of West Yorkshire Police, said: "We are tackling the crimes that affect our local communities.

“Our staff are continuing to work incredibly hard against a backdrop of further reductions in funding and at a time when the organisation is seeing some of the most significant changes in policing in its history.

“We are determined to continue to reduce crime, and we continue to look for innovative ways to make our communities safer and feeling safer.”

Mark Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, agreed that the rise in sexual offences could be partly down to increased awareness and willingness by victims to come forward.

Commenting on the overall figures for West Yorkshire, he said: “Once again, these figures demonstrate that police officers and staff are working incredibly hard to help bring down crime across the county.

“It is important to note in the context of these figures that we know there are some issues with crime recording that West Yorkshire Police are working to resolve, as highlighted in the HMIC report on crime data integrity recently.

“But that doesn’t take away from the overall trend that crime has reduced despite damaging government cuts of at least 30 per cent by 2016/17 and the many challenges we all face.

"These decreasing figures demonstrate that the hard work and continued commitment of officers, staff and partners within West Yorkshire in reducing crime is working.”

Across the Bradford district, the number of rapes and sexual offences reported to the police increased from 624 to 724, an increase of 16 per cent.

Although reports of shoplifting and general theft went up, the overall crime rate fell by two per cent, with noticeable decreases in burglary, robbery, drug offences, and criminal damage and arson.