Thames Valley Police saw the number of reported hate crimes hit a record high in the wake of the EU referendum, new statistics have revealed.

The numbers, put together by the Press Association, show a sharp nationwide rise in the number of hate crimes reported between July and September 2016, when compared with the same statistics between April and June of the same year.

The figures demonstrate a regional increase of 20 per cent in the Thames Valley for the number of hate crimes reported in the months following the Brexit vote, taking the tally to 268. This is the highest quarterly figure since comparative records began in April 2012. The Dorset Police area recorded the highest percentage increase across the country.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said the findings suggested a small number of people used the Brexit vote “to legitimise inexcusable racism and prejudice”, while the charity Victim Support said that more needed to be done to encourage victims to come forward.

David Isaac, chairman of the EHRC, suggested it would be sensible to prepare for any possible spikes in hate crime once Brexit negotiations got under way.

He said: “The vast majority of people who voted to leave the European Union did so because they believed it was best for Britain and not because they are intolerant of others.

“It is clear, however, that a small minority of people used the Brexit vote to legitimise inexcusable racism and prejudice. We cannot allow such intolerable acts of hate to be condoned or repeated.

“The triggering of Article 50 is the next major milestone and we must do all we can to discourage hate attacks and to support people who feel at risk.”

However, UKIP leader Paul Nuttall told the Independent he did not believe the figures were trustworthy.

He said: “A lot of that [rise in hate crimes] is fabricated.

“Of course there will be individual instances and people should never be victims of hate crime at all.

“I’ve said this in the chamber in the European Parliament, my heart goes out to those people who have been victims, but I think a lot of this has been overblown specifically to try to rubbish Brexit.”

Lucy Hastings, director at Victim Support, explained how the charity supported 16,000 victims of hate crime in England and Wales last year and confirmed a spike in referrals in the immediate aftermath of the referendum.

She also suggested the rise could be linked to increased publicity about hate crimes, which “encouraged more people to report or seek support”.

She said: “Hate crime has no place in our society and every victim of this crime is one too many.

“We believe that more needs to be done to further encourage reporting. This includes making third-party hate crime units more accessible to the public.”