THERE were 25 reports of hate crime against Jews in Bury in the first half of the year, a new report shows.

That is a slight increase on the same period last year when there were 23 such reports.

There were 135 reports across the county – 37 more than in the first six months of 2013.

Seventy of those incidents took place in Salford and 19 took place in the city centre.

The data was gathered by the Community Security Trust charity, which monitors anti-Semitic crime and works with police to combat it.

Nationwide, there were 473 reports, compared with 309 in the same period last year.

Two of the latest incidents involved ‘extreme violence’, the CST said, while 42 were of violent assaults, 36 concerned threats, 353 concerned abusive behaviour and five concerned mass-produced literature.

CST chief executive David Delew said: "We welcome the apparent increase in reporting of anti-Semitic incidents but regret the concern and anxiety about anti-Semitism that this reflects.”

Home Secretary Theresa May praised the CST for its work and added: “It is encouraging that more people are coming forward as the under-reporting of hate crime is a real issue.

“We will publish a counter-extremism strategy to protect citizens and communities, promote our shared values and to defeat extremism in all its forms.

“I know that many Jewish people in this country are concerned about safety in their community, and we are listening.”

Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan, of Greater Manchester Police, said he believed the rise in reporting was a sign of increasing confidence among Jews that police will take hate crime seriously.

He added: "We can only look to end anti-Semitism if we are made aware when it occurs.

"That is why it is so important, if you have been subject to abuse, intimidation or criminality, to report these incidents so we can investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice."

Report hate crime by calling police on 101 or via report-it.org.uk