AS the nation reacts to the racist abuse suffered by three of England’s footballers, analysis of the latest figures reveals how racial hate crime soared in North Yorkshire in the four years before the coronavirus pandemic.

Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka all received online racist abuse after missing penalties in the Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy on Sunday night.

The comments have prompted a police investigation and widespread condemnation, including from England’s manager Gareth Southgate, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prince William.

Charity Victim Support said it was “appalled” by the abuse, and added that it followed a rise in reported race hate crime nationally during the pandemic.

Home Office data reveals a record number of race hate crimes were recorded by police forces in England and Wales in 2019-20 – the latest available figures.

North Yorkshire Police recorded 428 crimes during the period – an increase of more than double compared to 2015-16, when 186 incidents were reported.

They also marked a 14 per cent rise from 2018-19, when 375 racial hate crimes were reported.

Across England and Wales, police recorded 76,070 racial hate crimes in 2019-20 – the equivalent of more than 200 a day, and the highest number since comparable records began in 2011-12.

The rise was partly down to improvements in recording and an awareness of hate crime, the Home Office said.

It also said events like the EU referendum in 2016 and terrorist attacks in 2017 were likely to have had an impact.

But Victim Support said other factors, such as the murder of George Floyd by a policeman in America last year, had driven a further increase in reports.

The charity said it was “extremely saddened and appalled” by the abuse suffered by the three England football players following Sunday’s match.

Jo Parks, services director, said: “We’ve been concerned to see rising reports of race hate crime throughout the pandemic and have seen significant increases in the number of victims coming to us for support.

“These hate crimes have had a damaging impact on victims’ safety and sense of self-worth, which can take years to re-build.”

In the wake of the racist abuse of the England footballers, home secretary Priti Patel is now urging social media firms to take tougher action over racism ahead.

She said: “Racist abuse is utterly unacceptable and illegal, whether it takes place on or offline – those individuals who commit racist offences should rightly face the full force of the law.”

Superintendent Mark Khan, North Yorkshire Police commander for York, said: “Hate crime can take many forms, and it can happen anywhere: at home, work, on public transport, when out socially and online.

“Hate crime causes huge distress and lasting harm. Targeting someone simply because of their race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or gender is a crime which has an impact on individuals, their families and whole communities.

“I want to be clear that hate is not something that you have to live with. It’s crucial to tell the police about all incidents of hate, and we will always take reports extremely seriously. There are also a wide range of charities and organisations that can assist you. The most important thing is to get in touch and get help.

“We’ve all got a role to play in tackling hate crime, and we all need to work together to put an end to it for good. Please report it, so we can make it stop.”

The abuse targeted at the England players has also seen a fresh wave of support for model Katie Price’s online petition aimed at making it more difficult for online trolls to be anonymous.

The petition – which now has more than 660,000 signatures – wants to make it a legal requirement for anyone opening a new social media account to provide a verified form of ID.

As of around 11am on Wednesday (July 14), 52,872 people from across Yorkshire and The Humber had lent their names to the petition.

It was launched following abuse directed at Ms Price’s son, Harvey.

To report hate crime contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 1, and speak to the Force Control Room.