THE number of sexual offences against children recorded by police in Gwent has increased by 57 per cent in the space of a year, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.

The figures rose from 144 in 2013 to 226 in 2014, with the number of offences committed against girls, 136, more than six times higher than that of boys, 22, and 17 of the victims children aged five and under.

The figures were revealed by the NSPCC as the charity launches its third state of the nation annual report, How safe are our children?, at a conference in London later today (Wednesday).

The report compiles the most robust and up-to-date child protection data that exists across each of the four nations in the UK.

The charity also revealed that last year, of the 297 contacts from Wales that the NSPCC’s helpline received about sexual abuse, nearly half of them, 151, were so serious they had to be referred on to other agencies.

Nearly 60 of these calls came from people in the Gwent Police force area.

The charity said it was ‘not clear’ why the number of offences recorded had risen, but cited greater awareness may be giving more victims the courage to come forward and police forces improving their recording methods.

NSPCC head of service for Wales, Des Mannion, said: “These figures are disturbing and clearly illustrate child sexual abuse is a continuing and widespread problem that needs urgent action.

“But we know this is still only a fraction of the true number of victims because some endure an agonising wait of many years before telling anyone – and others never reveal what has happened to them.”

He also called on social services to work to ensure children who suffer abuse receive appropriate support and treatment.

Gwent Police cited ‘a combination of factors’, including high profile cases in the national media encouraging victims to come forward and changes to crime recording practices, for the increase in the number of offences recorded.

Detective superintendent Ian Roberts, of the Public Protection Unit at Gwent Police, said: “We have made significant investment with our partners in the statutory and third sectors on our response to identifying and safeguarding children who are vulnerable because they frequently go missing or because they are at risk of sexual exploitation. Again, this has resulted in more offences being reported and investigated."

He added: “Protecting vulnerable people is a key priority for Gwent Police and despite the challenges of operating with a reduced budget, our response to vulnerable children is constantly improving. We know that offences of this kind are significantly under reported in society and we always anticipated that the changes we have made would result in an increase in police recorded crime.”

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was unable to provide conviction rates for sexual offences against children as the organisation doesn’t have an age breakdown of victims.