THERE were 62 incidents of homophobic ‘hate crime’ reported to Dorset Police in 2016-17, however a charity says this is “the tip of an iceberg”.

The latest Home Office figures show the number of reported incidents where gay, lesbian or bisexual people were allegedly abused or attacked due to their identity during the 2016-17 financial year. The figure, 62, is up from 56 the previous year.

Charity Stonewall, which campaigns on LGBT issues, says this is a fraction of the true number of homosexual people who have experienced hate crime.

A spokesman said: “These worrying statistics are a wake-up call. It’s 2018 – lesbian, gay, bi and trans people should feel safe and no one should face hatred simply because of who they are. Sadly, the reality is very different. And while some people may suggest this spike is due to increased confidence in reporting, we fear these figures represent just the tip of the iceberg of a rise in hate crimes against LGBT people.”

The figures show that over the same period there were nine incidents of transgender hate crime reported to Dorset Police.

Stonewall said according to its research “four in five anti-LGBT hate crimes go unreported, with younger people particularly reluctant to go to the police”. That research, by YouGov, also suggests that trans people are more than twice as likely as to experience hate crime than other members of the LGBT community.

The spokesman said: “These statistics are the real life consequence of a society where transphobia is everywhere – from the front pages of newspapers, to the gates of the school yard.

“Stonewall works with police services across Britain to ensure all LGBT people feel more confident and comfortable reporting abuse.

“It’s vital we improve confidence in the way the criminal justice system deals with LGBT hate crime.”

The Home Office said in its report that it believes LGBT hate crime rises are due to improved reporting rather than genuine increases.

In total, the latest data shows that in the 2016-17 financial year 443 alleged hate crimes were reported to Dorset Police, up from 434 the year before.

The majority of those, 320 in total, were racist abuse or attacks.