MORE than 380 children were the victims of sex crimes in Suffolk last year, shocking figures have today revealed.

NSPCC statistics show 386 children were subjected to sex crimes including rape, incest and abuse through prostitution and pornography.

The NSPCC is calling on parents, the Government and schools to take action to cut out abuse.

Dawn Henry, chief executive of Suffolk Young Peoples Service, said: “Any crime against a young person or a child is quite horrendous.

“There’s a need to heighten awareness around protecting children, making them more aware of the risks and offering them the right support when they have suffered from this type of crime so we can help them through and out the other side.”

More than 100 of the victims were not of secondary school age and 26 were five and under, while 278 of the offences were against 11 to 17 year olds. More than 400 sexual crimes against children were reported to police in England and Wales every week last year with less than one in ten ending in conviction.

Dan Russell, from NSPCC, said: “Many of these distressing offences are committed on extremely young and helpless children, who may not understand what is happening to them and are unable to ask for help.”