A staggering 23,000 child sex offences were reported to police in England and Wales - 64 a day - but with many going unreported, that figure could actually be much higher.

A quarter of the victims were primary school age while more than 1,000 were too young to even go to school.

One in four suspects was under the age of 18.

Children's charity, the NSPCC said the rise was a real concern and that urgent action needs to be taken to create more services to help victims and tackle offenders.

Jon Brown, from the charity, said: 'Thousands of people come forward every year to report sex crimes against children.

'But many victims are too young to ask for help. Others are too scared to tell anyone about their suffering until years later.

'The rise in recorded sex offences against children is a real concern and we need to find ways to help victims and change the behaviour of young offenders.

'More than 2,000 suspects in these cases were under 18. It's clear we need more services that address the harmful sexual behaviour of young people, as well as adult offenders.'

'We urge everyone to be vigilant and report any concerns they have about a child.'

The Metropolitan Police recorded most sex offences - 3,672, - followed by West Midlands Police at 1,531 cases and in West Yorkshire there were 1,205 incidents.

The figures included offences such as rape, incest and gross indecency. More than half of them - 12,088 - were aged between 12 and 15 and around a quarter - 5,022 - were aged 16 or 17.

A Home Office spokesman said: 'These figures are appalling and we'll continue to work with groups like the NSPCC to protect the most vulnerable people in our society. Read More