Damian Citko was attacked outside the Cross Keys pub in Dagenham in January by 15 men as he was about to drive off on his motorbike. The group beat him to the ground with kicks and punches. "They kicked my head so hard that even though I was wearing a helmet I had black eyes," says Citko, 39, a network administrator from Opole, who arrived in Britain shortly after Poland's accession to the EU in 2004. "All I could hear while they were beating me was: 'Go back to Poland, go back home.'" The police arrived and rushed Citko to Queen's hospital, Romford. Luckily his heavily padded biking gear meant he survived the assault without major injuries.

Citko is just one of hundreds of Poles who are victims of race crime every year in the UK. Exclusive figures obtained for Society Guardian through freedom of information requests reveal that, in 2013, police officers arrested 585 people for a hate crime (such as a violent assault, vandalism or a public order offence) against a Pole – one person every 14 hours. That's a tenfold increase from 2004. And the total number of arrests is likely to be much higher, because only 26 of the country's 46 forces replied to the Guardian's request for information.

Of the forces that did supply figures, just under a quarter of total arrests were in Hertfordshire – with its huge Welwyn/Hatfield Polish community – where 97 arrests were made for hate crimes against Poles last year. Other hotspots were Northern Ireland, with 85 arrests and Lancashire, with 53.

The figures – which only show recorded crimes – are just the tip of the iceberg. In the decade since Poland joined the EU, at least half a million Poles have come to Britain. Many say they have suffered some form of xenophobia. In a recent survey of 1,000 Polish people by journalism students at the London College of Communications, nearly three-quarters (71%) said they had been subjected to some form of abuse and knew someone who had been physically attacked because they were Polish.

And the problem is worsening. In Belfast, over 10 days in April, three young Polish nationals were attacked by a gang after being asked for a cigarette; a 23-year-old man was stabbed in the leg and seven Polish homes were vandalised. "It was terrifying, they were throwing bricks through our windows," says Maria Glok, who lives in the one of the vandalised homes. "I really feared for my family. I honestly don't know if I can continue to live here like this."

"It's like people think it is OK to discriminate against [us]."

For Andrzej Rygielski, 51, a retail manager from Kent, these cases are all too familiar. Rygielski says he has suffered from an appalling level of abuse since he arrived in the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, from Inowroclaw in 2005. "For years I have had stones thrown at me and my house", he says. In 2012, Rygielski came home from shopping with his teenage daughter to find "Pollish suck cock" (sic) scrawled in fake blood on the outer wall of his house and, in January this year, he was attacked in his shop by a customer.

The Association of Chief Police Officers says the police are trying to make it easier to report these offences. "The police are committed to reducing the harm caused by hate crime," says superintendent Paul Giannasi, of Acpo's national working group on hate crime. "The service has worked hard to increase the reporting of hate crimes. Anyone who believes they are the victim of a hate crime should report the matter to the police in the full assurance that their complaint will be investigated fully and handled sensitively."

While most Polish people feel the UK is a friendlier place now than when they first arrived, Polish civic organisations worry that the recession and benefit cuts are increasing anti-Polish feeling. Krzysztof Kawczynski, coordinator at east London-based charity Flowers of Human Hearts, which helps Poles find accommodation and jobs and also runs a homeless shelter, says that the charity has noted a steep rise in the number of Poles being violently attacked since the start of the recession. "I can see that when there are fewer jobs available, some people blame the lack of opportunities on Poles and that may lead to these attacks," he says.

"At the moment it is much harder for Poles because of the association with benefits and taking jobs. There are a lot of Polish people being discriminated against and the government is not doing anything about it. They need to recognise that this is a problem."

In February, 20 Polish community leaders and organisations wrote an open letter to David Cameron criticising the government's approach. "It is truly hurtful that once excellent British-Polish relations are on the verge of being shattered by populist politicians, who are using Poles as scapegoats," the letter said. "We will not allow bigotry and discrimination against our people."

On the same day, hundreds protested outside parliament calling on the government to do more to combat anti-Polish attitudes in the UK. Many blame the media. "The newspapers make us like monsters, like scum. They say we are stealing jobs and benefits. This is simply untrue," says Rygielski.

Others attribute the increase in anti-Polish feeling to senior political figures. George Byczynski, one of the protest organisers and founder of the British Polish Law Association (BPLA), which was created in January to offer legal assistance to Poles who have suffered discrimination, says: "When the prime minister is name-checking Poles as somehow responsible for taking benefits away from this country, it is no wonder people who read those comments believe it and that, as a result, Poles are under attack in their communities. It was utterly irresponsible."

He is also critical of Labour's plans to prevent work agencies exclusively bringing in employees from Poland. Byczynski says the PBLA is prepared to bring legal action against those defaming Poland and Poles.

For now, despite the severity of the attack, Citko has decided to stay and get on with his life. "I want people to understand that Britain is my home, that I love it here. It is time to stop blaming us Poles for stealing jobs."

• Some names have been changed