Race hate crimes at three-year high in Thames Valley

Police flagged up 248 offences in 2017/18, up from 145 two years earlier - a 71 per cent increase.

An NSPCC investigation found 56 victims in the Thames Valley were aged under 10, while toddlers and babies were among those targeted nationwide.

Victims across the country told the charity’s Childline service that they tried to change their appearance using make-up, with one girl, aged 10, revealing she had been bullied since she started school.

She said: “My friends won’t hang out with me anymore because people started asking why they were friends with someone who had dirty skin.

“I was born in the UK but bullies tell me to go back to my own country. I don’t understand because I’m from the UK.

“I’ve tried to make my face whiter before using make up so that I can fit in. I just want to enjoy going to school.”

Another girl, 16, said she had been called a ‘terrorist’.

She added: “I dress in traditional Muslim clothes and I think it singles me out.

“I usually just put my head down and get on with it but it’s getting to the point now where I genuinely feel like I might get attacked.”

Childline held 2,617 counselling sessions about race and faith based bullying between 2015/16 and 2017/18, with girls most likely to use the service.

The pattern in the Thames Valley was reflected across the nation as race hate crimes increased by a fifth, from 8,683 in 2015/16 to 10,571 in 2017/18.

Last year, offences against all ages rose by 14 per cent nationwide to 71,251, with the increase thought to be largely down to improvements in police recording.

Head of Childline, John Cameron, said: “If we see a child bullying another because of their race we need to tackle it head on, by explaining that it’s not ok and how hurtful it is.”