VICTIMS of hate crime have been urged to come forward, as new figures show there were fewer than 100 hate crime prosecutions completed across Gwent.

New Crown Prosecution Service figures show a total of 97 hate crime prosecutions were completed in 2016/17 in Gwent.

Of these, there were 81 convictions and 16 cases where there was no conviction.

Across Wales, there were 737 prosecutions, with 606 of these resulting in conviction.

Police and crime commissioner Jeff Cuthbert urged anyone who believes they are the victim of a hate crime to come forward.

He said: "Hate crime is not tolerated in any way in Gwent and it is critically important that if any person believes they are the victim of a hate crime it is reported to the police.

"We value having good community cohesion in Gwent and we are looking to work with community leaders at all levels.

"The message from the number of successful convictions should be that nobody is going to get away with abusing other people because of their difference."

The figures were released during National Hate Crime Awareness Week which takes place from October 14 to October 21.

Gwent police say there has been a three per cent increase in recorded hate crimes across Wales.

However, it is estimated that 48 per cent of crimes are going unreported.

The most common motivating factor in hate crimes recorded by the police was race, at 73 per cent, Gwent police say.

Across the UK, the CPS figures show fewer alleged hate criminals were prosecuted last year despite a spike in reported incidents around the EU referendum.

In 2016-17 a total of 14,480 hate crime prosecutions were completed across England and Wales.

This tally was down from 15,442 in the previous financial year, a fall of nearly 1,000, or 6.2 per cent.

Data on hate crime prosecutions cover offences perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or transgender identity.

Figures on the number of hate crime offences recorded by police for the full 12 months have not yet been published.

Anyone who has experienced or witnessed a hate crime or incident can report it to Gwent Police by calling 101.