MORE than a thousand Hampshire youngsters were victims of sex crimes last year, latest figures have revealed.

The shocking statistics from the NSPCC found that a total of 1,148 children in the county were sexually assaulted, either through rape, incest or prostitution.

The majority of these offences, 833, were reported against 11- to 17-year-olds but 315 victims had not reached secondary school age and 104 were aged five and under.

The children’s charity is now calling on schools and parents to educate children about reporting abuse and demanding that Westminster support therapeutic services for victims.

Over the last four years the number of convictions in England and Wales has risen by around one-quarter from 1,747 in 2007 to 2,135 in 2010.

Julie Cole, from the charity, said: “The NSPCC is doing what it can by using information like this from the police to tailor our treatment services – different approaches are needed depending on the age of the child.

“But we can’t tackle this problem by ourselves.

“It requires a major effort from Government and the public to give children the protection they need and to provide more therapeutic programmes so the young victims of abuse can start to rebuild their lives.”