The number of people convicted of hate crimes in Kent has increased by a quarter in the past year.

Data released by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) shows a spike in incidents involving people being targeted based on their race, religion, sexual orientation or disability.

The figures relate to the period between April 2014 to March 2015 and April 2015 to March 2016.

The county has seen a more significant rise than elsewhere, with a 25% increase in convictions compared to 10% in the south east as a whole.

It comes after Labour councillors in Medway condemned the rise in xenophobic hate crime both in the county and nationwide.

And just last week, a man was arrested and charged in connection with an investigation into the verbal abuse of a Portuguese woman in Earl Street, Maidstone.

The CPS figures also show there was a 60% increase in the number of homophobic and transphobic prosecutions between 2014/15 and 2015/16.

Nationally, there were 15,442 prosecutions for all kinds of hate crime in the 2015/16 period. This is compared to 14,738 prosecutions in the 2014/15 period.

These figures do not include the period around the EU referendum, which took place in June this year.

The Brexit vote, which will see the UK leaving the European Union, has been blamed for a recent increase in the number of hate crimes reported nationwide.

Police figures show that 3,076 hate crimes and incidents were reported to forces across the UK between Thursday, June 16 and Thursday, June 30 - a week before and a week after the referendum.

The CPS says it is working with local police forces to fight this increase in hate crime and to convict guilty parties.

A police spokesman said: "Kent Police remains committed to stamping out all crime motivated by hate and prejudice.

"Our message is simple: Have the trust and confidence to report hate crimes and incidents to the police.

"Hate crimes and incidents are hurtful and can be very threatening. By reporting them when they happen to you, you may also be able to prevent these incidents from happening to someone else."