The number of religious hate crimes reported in Sussex spiked last summer as Israel carried out a six-week bombing campaign in Gaza.

A third of all religious hate crimes reported to Sussex Police last year occurred during the six weeks of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge.

The force’s hate crime sergeant Peter Allan said the figures show how world events influence incidents in Sussex.

Home Secretary Theresa May warned of Jews leaving the UK out of fear of attacks, while Holocaust survivors expressed fears of rising anti-Semitism.

Nationwide, 2014 saw the most anti-Semitic incidents recorded by police since records began 30 years ago, according to the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism.

But figures obtained by The Argus show the number in our county remain comparatively low, although hate crime against all religions has rapidly increased in the past two years. It is believed this partly because of increased reporting.

Last year, there were 53 religious hate crimes in Sussex, a drop from 79 in 2013. But this shows an increase from the years 2009 to 2013, when the highest annual number was only 25.

A total of 18 of last year’s 53 hate crimes were recorded in the six weeks of the Israeli conflict in Gaza in June and July. Of those crimes, seven were recorded as anti-Semitic last year compared with four in 2013.

Sgt Allan said: “We are not surprised by what happened last summer. We are obviously aware that what happens outside Sussex can manifest into incidents in the county. In fact, we expected more than we had.

“We look at events like the killings of Lee Rigby, Alan Hemmings and the Gaza and Israel conflict for how they might manifest here.”

Sgt Allan said he had seen no evidence to support the Home Secretary’s speech concerning Jews considering leaving the UK for their own safety.

He said: “That’s got to be positive that we are not seeing that because that’s how terrorists win when people change their lifestyle and how they live.

“The Jewish communities in Sussex are well connected with local police on a personal level.

“They know, because of the trust and communication that has been built up, if they want to report anything even informally we can have those conversations on a local level.”