The map that shows huge regional variation in rape convictions across England and Wales

In some parts of the country, the percentage of rape reports that result in a conviction is as low as 8.8 per cent

There were 19,316 recorded rapes against adults and 9,949 against children reported in the year 2014/15 (REX Features)

Alleged rape victims are three times more likely to see their attacker convicted in certain parts of the country compared to others, figures from the Crown Prosecution service have revealed.

The regional breakdown, illustrated below in a map by Statista UK for The Independent, shows that despite the number of prosecutions being roughly proportionate to population size - with London seeing 810 prosecutions in 2014/15 - the percentage of rape reports resulting in a conviction varied hugely from place to place.

For instance, in Lancashire 28 per cent of rapes reported in 2014/15 ended in conviction - compared to just 8.8 per cent in nearby Cheshire.

The figures were compiled by the Rape Monitoring Group for Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) for 42 police forces across England and Wales.

The total number of prosecutions for rape and percentage that resulted in a conviction in brackets (Statista/CPS)

The data showed there were 19,316 recorded rapes against adults and 9,949 against children reported in the year 2014/15.

In some areas, this means as many as 55 adults per 100,000 people were potentially victims of sexual violence.

There has been a 87-per-cent increase in the number of rape reports since the beginning of Operation Yewtree in 2012.

Campaign groups have welcomed the HMIC decision to publish the data, praising its “commitment to transparency and enabling the scrutiny of the handling of sexual offences by the police”, but said the results highlighted that too many victims were still being “hidden”.

Kate Russell, a spokeswoman for Rape Crisis, said the increase in recorded rapes mirrored their own experiences. The charity said its network was now supporting over 50,000 sexual violence survivors on an ongoing basis - an increase of 50 per cent since 2012/13.

She said: "It’s positive that more sexual violence survivors are coming forward to seek support and justice as sexual offences are historically and still hugely under-reported in comparison to other crimes and survivors often live alone with their experiences for years before disclosing what’s happened to them.

"However, it is not easy to evidence this from the existing published data because reported offences continue to be presented in such a way that they reflect the age at the time the offence took place, but not at reporting.

"This is of concern; adult survivors of child sexual abuse have been ‘hidden’ for far too long and continue to be unseen within published statistics.

"The wide disparities in the figures between different police forces also remain an issue of concern that we continue to highlight.”

Ms Russell said the figures highlighted the need for central and local government to prioritise funding for people working with sexual violence survivors.

She said only half of Rape Crisis’ specialist support and advocacy services were funded beyond March 2016.