Reports of indecent exposure on trains across the country have risen by 62% in the last five years, worrying new figures show.

A Freedom of Information request to British Transport Police (BTP), sent by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, revealed 183 reports of indecent exposure on trains across the UK in 2023 – up from 158 in 2022 and 113 in 2019.

Eleven of the 183 cases were reported in Kent

Exposure is a crime which takes place when a person has intentionally exposed their genitals to upset or frighten someone else.

The team from BTP is urging victims to report any cases to officers.

A spokesperson said: “You can report anything of a sexual nature, including rubbing, groping, masturbation, leering, sexual comments and indecent acts.

“You don’t have to prove that it was a criminal offence or that it was committed intentionally, as our officers will investigate that.

“No incident is too small or trivial, and we will always take you seriously.

“Each report we receive provides us with valuable information which we can use to build a picture of an offender.

“Often it allows us to notice a pattern of offending behaviour and then take action.

“We want everyone to know that they can text us discreetly on 61016, whether something is happening to you at the time or has happened to you recently.

“Our control room can dispatch officers to a location if required, or put you in touch with an officer to speak at a convenient time.”

Of the 183 reports, a total 35 cases were reported on the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) network – which includes Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink routes in Hertfordshire.

Most reports of indecent exposure were made with reference to routes in London and the commuter belt, the figures suggest – with 66 incidents reported.

In addition, 10 came from Sussex, nine from Hertfordshire, and eight came from the West Midlands.

The cases were linked with National Rail trains and stations, and the data does not include reports of exposure on other networks such as the London Underground or the West Midlands Metro in Birmingham and Wolverhampton.

At the time BTP responded to the FOI request in February 2024, 27 reports had resulted in a charge, summons or caution.

Mike Boyce, head of security and policing at GTR, said: “Indecent exposure is a crime and we take reports of this nature very seriously.

“We work closely with the British Transport Police (BTP) to tackle unwanted sexual behaviour on our network and would urge anyone that witnesses this kind of behaviour to report it immediately to a member of staff or to the BTP.

“One report of indecent exposure is one too many, and we are very sorry to the victims that have been affected by an incident of this kind on our services.”