Hertfordshire saw a stark rise in hate crime reports following last year’s Brexit vote.

Figures recorded between July and September 2016 revealed a 30 per cent increase in reports of hate crime across the county.

In the three months following the EU referendum, there were 266 reported incidents of hate crime in Hertfordshire.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said the findings suggested a small number of people used the Brexit vote “to legitimise inexcusable racism and prejudice”, while charity Victim Support said more needed to be done to encourage victims to come forward.

However UKIP leader Paul Nuttall said that such incidents have been “overblown” in an attempt to “rubbish Brexit”.

The figures, compiled by the Press Association, provide the first complete picture of hate crime recorded by police in England and Wales following the referendum on June 23.

Figures from the Press Association show in the three months ending September 2016, 33 out of 44 forces recorded the highest quarterly number of hate crimes since records began in April 2012.

Three forces each recorded more than 1,000 hate crimes – the Metropolitan Police (3,356), Greater Manchester (1,033) and West Yorkshire (1,013).

Provisional figures on hate crimes published by the Home Office in October 2016 suggested offences in July of that year were 41 per cent higher than in July 2015.

The new analysis shows a rise in incidents was seen in almost every force in England and Wales, both year-on-year and when comparing the three months either side of the referendum.