THERE has been a steep surge in hate crimes in Herefordshire this year.

Numbers are up almost a quarter – from 76 to 94. That is around one hate crime every two days.

But the reality is almost certainly worse, with some estimates that half of all hate crimes are not reported.

Now police are warning they will not tolerate hatred, racism and prejudice and offenders will be dealt with ‘robustly.’

They have appealed to victims to come forward so they can ensure perpetrators ‘face the consequences.’

Race is by far the biggest motivator of hate crime, but it also covers religion, sex orientation, disability and transgender.

New national and regional figuresshow that in 2018-19 hate crime in England and Wales rose 10 per cent, while in the West Mercia force area it fell about 6.6 per cent.

In Herefordshire there was a fall or nearly 20 per cent, from 174 to 140.

But that picture has rapidly changed since March with a 23.7 per cent increase.

Chief Superintendent Tom Harding, local policing lead for Herefordshire, said: “No-one should be targeted simply for being themselves and we will not tolerate hate crime in any form.

“Thankfully the number of people who attempt to disrupt our communities across Herefordshire with hatred, racism and prejudice are in the minority, however we are not complacent and our work tackle hate crime continues.

“Individuals who do commit a crime motivated by hatred will be dealt with robustly. I would encourage anyone who has been a victim of a hate crime, or witnessed a hate crime to come forward and report this to us, if we know about it we can do something about it and make sure those who are responsible face the consequences.”

Latest West Mercia figures show 1,242 hate offences last year, compared to 1,330 the previous 12 months. Race crimes made up the majority, with 800 cases. That was 70 down on the previous year.

There was a steep fall in disability hate crimes, down from 213 to 141.

National figures show 103,379 hate crimes last year.

Generally hate crime offences have been rising for several years. This is partly due to more people reporting cases and better recording of offences, but there have also been marked spikes around the EU referendum and terrorism incidents.

It is thought hate crime may be under-reported by as much as 50%.