Almost one-third of criminals in an East Lancashire borough reoffended within a year of their conviction or release from prison, figures show.

Data from the Ministry of Justice shows 1,137 offenders in Blackburn with Darwen were released from prison, cautioned, or handed a non-custodial sentence in the year to September 2022.

Of them, 365 went on to reoffend within a year. This included nine under-18s.

The reoffending rate in the area stood at 32.1 per cent, up from 28.6 per cent the year before.

It was similar in Burnley, where 235 out of 762 offenders went on to reoffend within a year, including eight under-18s.

The reoffending rate in the area stood at 30.8 per cent, up from 26.7 per cent the year before.

Across England and Wales, the rate rose from 24.3 per cent in 2020-21 to 25.8 per cent in the October 2021 to September 2022 cohort.

Charity Catch-22 said reoffending highlights the challenges within our criminal justice system which struggles to "effectively punish and rehabilitate offenders".

Matt Randle, justice director at Catch-22, said: "Proven reoffending rates indicate that the system struggles to effectively punish and rehabilitate offenders, often due to limited resources and structural flaws.

"Systemic pressures such as staffing shortages, an overcrowded prison population, and ongoing impacts from Covid have further strained the sector."

He added a "more rehabilitative focus" in the justice system was crucial to help reduce reoffending.

Across England and Wales, reoffenders had an average of 3.8 new offences. This was higher in Blackburn with Darwen, with around 4.2 each, and roughly the same as in Burnley.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of social justice charity Nacro, said reoffending costs the UK £18 billion per year.

He said there are "basic building blocks that must be in place for people leaving prison if we want to reduce their risk of reoffending".

"Evidence shows that people are less likely to reoffend if they are in work.

"Equally, people who have left prison and are in stable accommodation are 50 per cent less likely to commit further crimes.

"Yet, just 31 per cent of people who leave prison are in work six months after release, and the number of people who are released from prison into homelessness has risen by a third in the past year alone."

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "This Government is committed to a criminal justice system that makes better citizens, not better criminals.

"That has started by addressing the crisis in our prisons with the emergency measures set out by the Lord Chancellor last month.

"We are also strengthening the probation services, bringing on 1,000 new probation officers by March 2025. And we will be doing more to bring together prison governors and employers to help get people into work and break the cycle of crime.

"These statistics are a reminder of the scale of that task, but this new Government is committed to reducing reoffending."