RACIALLY aggravated crime in the Thames Valley has risen by almost 40 per cent since the London bombings.

Police revealed that from when the terrorists struck on July 7, to August 1, there were 146 reported hate crimes compared to 105 during the same period last year.

And the fear among officers is that the figure may rise due to the hot summer weather, school holidays, and more people out drinking.

A Thames Valley police spokesman said: "We believe no members of our community should suffer because of the actions of terrorists and no one should use these attacks as an excuse to divide our communities or to threaten and harm individuals.

"Our officers will deal robustly with any incidents of hate crime and we urge the community to report any such incidents to us."

He added: "Though there has been an increase in offences, the figures are still extremely low, and we have been working hard with communities to encourage people to come forward and report these incidents."

Police said the detection rate for racial crime had gone up to 34 per cent compared to 16 per cent last year.

In addition, the number of arrests for racially aggravated crime where the suspect was identified had risen from 28 per cent to 57 per cent in the same period as last year (29 March to 1 August).

However, High Wycombe's Muslim leaders said they had not heard of any incidents in the town since the events of July 7.

Mohammed Ilyas, chairman of the High Wycombe Mosque committee, said: "As far as I am aware we have not had any problems.

"There was a rumour that an Asian woman had been racially abused, but police told us at a meeting that it was just a rumour.

"We are very happy that relations within the High Wycombe community are very good."

Qadeer Ahmed, director and treasurer of the Mosque, in Jubilee Road, said he was also unaware of any incidents arising from the terrorist attacks.

Police said they would continue to work closely with the community and the Independent Advisory Groups (IAGs), which include multi-faith representatives, to reassure them any crime reported would be dealt with.

To combat the predicted rise in racially aggravated crime, officers will be patrolling vulnerable areas and will keep in close contact with the community in partnership with the local authorities.