Homophobia was behind one in seven hate crimes recorded in Dorset last year, figures reveal.

LGBTQ+ rights charities are calling for action to safeguard the community, as hate crimes based on sexual orientation have almost doubled in the last five years in England and Wales.

Dorset Police figures show the force received 144 homophobic and biphobic hate crime reports in the year to March.

It means someone's sexual orientation was a motivating factor in 16 per cent of the 1,019 hate crimes recorded in Dorset last year.

Charity Galop, which runs an LGBTQ+ hate crime helpline, said the pandemic has fuelled abuse, adding some callers said their attackers believe the outbreak to be a punishment for LGBTQ+ lifestyles.

Leni Morris, the charity’s CEO, said: “Lockdowns brought with them an escalation of abuse from homophobic and transphobic neighbours, with some of our clients experiencing break-ins and yet having few places to flee due to the restrictions.

“Around 70 per cent of same-sex couples avoid holding hands in public for fear of attack, but social distancing has made same-sex couples visible in public – and this has indeed led to attacks.”

She added the crimes have long-term effects on victims, with some changing their behaviour to avoid being targeted again.

The figures show transphobia was a factor in 27 hate crimes recorded by Dorset Police last year.

Police can record more than one motivating factor behind an offence.

Charity Stonewall says the true scale of hate crimes against LGBTQ+ victims may be much higher, due to many incidents going unreported.

Superintendent Gemma Morris, of Dorset Police, said: “Dorset Police takes every report of crime seriously, especially hate crimes, which receives a significant level of supervision and scrutiny.

“As a police force we are committed to supporting victims of crime and bringing offenders to justice. We work closely with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure offenders who are prosecuted for a hate crime receive an increased sentence, in line with the legislation.

“We know from the Crime Survey for England and Wales that hate crimes are widely unreported and we are focused on reducing the gap between the survey and reported crime by building trust and confidence with our communities and by ensuring that reporting methods are widely known.

“The message is very clear, hate crimes are not tolerated in our communities."

If you are a victim or witness of a hate crime or incident, report it to Dorset Police online at dorset.police.uk/do-it-online and click on the ‘Report a hate crime’ button. Alternatively, if you wish to speak to someone, call 101. In an emergency always dial 999.