Eight out of 10 people accused of stalking are not charged despite reported cases to the police having tripled in four years.

Home Office statistics show that of the 10,214 stalking allegations made in England and Wales in the financial year to 2018, only 1,822 resulted in a suspect being charged.

It means just 19.6 per cent of the 9,283 cases where an ‘outcome’ was recorded ended in a charge, a dramatic drop compared to 2015 when 40.6 per cent - 885 - of the 2,181 cases resulted in the alleged suspect being taken to court.