TRAINING to counter hate crimes on mosques will take place in East Lancashire this weekend.

The Lancashire Council of Mosques, in Norwich Street, Blackburn, has organised management training focusing on safety, governance and building capacity.

The initiative follows police figures that revealed faith hate crimes more than doubled across the country from 2016 to 2017.

Some 110 hate crimes directed at mosques and Islamic centres were recorded between March and July this year. The same period last year saw 47.

In Lancashire, however, the figures fell from one to zero.

The training is being delivered by Faith Associates of High Wycombe, which has more than 15 years of experience in advising and delivering management support to faith institution leaders.

Chief executive Shaukat Warraich said: “Whilst I welcome the Government's efforts to increase funding in both bolstering the reporting infrastructure for hate crimes and the additional £1million made available to provide enhanced private protection to places of worship, I have always been committed to supporting the management of faith institutions and equipping them with the tools and resources needed to take initiative and appreciate the benefits of being prepared."