The number of attacks increased to 11 between January and March 2014, almost double the number (six) in the previous quarter.

In the same period in 2013, there were three racially-motivated attacks against Romanians.

The rise coincides with a period when working restrictions were lifted, allowing both Romanians and Bulgarian nationals to enter the UK. Despite this, however, the number of Romanians and Bulgarians in the country has actually decreased since the beginning of the year, according to official figures from the Office for National Statistics.

While there were 144,00 Bulgarians and Romanians working in the UK in the final three months of 2013, the most recent figures suggest this figure has now dropped to 140,000.