Fresh figures have revealed vulnerable children are going missing thousands of times each year.

Kent County Council (KCC) says there were 2,275 reports of 381 missing youngsters in care made last year.

This is an increase from 2016 when 2,140 reports of 443 children disappearing from their place of safety.

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Cabinet member for children, young people and education at KCC, Roger Gough, said: "I think we've always been clear as to the overall position of children that are missing.

"We have a large number of children in care, with most there's never an issue.

"This is a situation quite often where we may know where the child is, they're not in the same place where they should be.

"Once an incident has concluded we'll ensure there's an extensive interview with that person to find out the reason."

WATCH: Missing children in care

The majority of cases involve children aged between 13 and 15-years-old.

Sarah Jenner from the NSPCC said: "There're a number of children that are going missing from care and each child that goes missing is a concern.

"Obviously children who go missing are generally children who are quite frightened and that has an impact on their mental wellbeing."

Sarah added there are many reasons why children want to run away including reconnecting with family and friends.