A TRANSGENDER councillor, who was a victim of a hate incident last year, has called for more to be done in communities after surge in hate crime.

Cllr Zoe Kirk-Robinson, representative for Westhoughton North and Chew Moor on Bolton Council, made the comment after the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) registered 'brief increases' in hate crime reports following the terrorist attacks this year.

The Conservative was judged to be a victim of a 'hate incident' by police last year when fellow councillor Guy Harkin 'misgendered' her during a council meeting.

Cllr Harkin insisted his comments were a 'slip of the tongue'.

Cllr Kirk-Robinson said: "Hate crime rises are often an indicator of people's willingness to notify the police, rather than an actual increase in the rate of hate crime.

"Nevertheless, I find the rise very concerning and hope that more is done in our communities to ensure all hate crime is handled effectively, to stop it happening again."

According to figures released by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), there was an increase in abuse in the days immediately after the atrocities at Westminster, Manchester and London Bridge.

Police recorded 234 hate crime incidents two days after the Westminster Bridge attack, 273 following the Manchester bombing and 319 recorded two days after the London Bridge attack.

On average, there were 171 hate crimes per day in 2016.

The biggest increase came after the Manchester Arena bombing, after which there was a 50% increase in hate crime the week after the attack compared with a year before.

NPCC lead for hate crime assistant chief constable Mark Hamilton said: "Reporting from police forces show that levels of hate crime peaked in the wake of the attacks but quickly subsided within a few days.

"This is in line with trends we have seen before, though obviously still a real concern for the police service and wider society."