The spike in hate crime since the EU referendum has left some people frightened to leave their homes, the leader of Britain’s police chiefs has said.

Sara Thornton, chairwoman of the National Police Chiefs' Council, made the comments as she revealed the number of hate crime incidents reported to a national police portal since the vote has been five times the typical weekly level, new figures have revealed.

Between last Thursday and Wednesday this week, 331 incidents were reported to the police-funded True Vision, compared to the weekly average of 63 reports. All the incidents are under active investigation.