More than 13,000 suspected and convicted criminals on the run after skipping court bail

Some forces in England have well over 1,000 outstanding warrants, some dating as far back as the 1980s, for individuals who failed to attend court hearings, figures given to the BBC show.

As a result, thousands of potentially dangerous and violent criminals remain at large, escaping justice and leaving some victims in fear of further attacks, campaigners warn.

The Metropolitan Police Service, West Yorkshire Police, West Midlands Police, Greater Manchester Police and Thames Valley Police reportedly have the greatest numbers of outstanding warrants.

According to figures supplied to the BBC following freedom of information requests, there are 13,492 known warrants outstanding.

The broadcaster asked all 39 forces in England to give details of arrest warrants issued by the courts after a suspect failed to attend hearings. Nine forces refused to provide details or did not reply.

The oldest outstanding warrant related to a man accused of attacking a police constable in 1980.

The warrants included those suspected or convicted of fraud, drugs offences, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault, child abuse, rape and murder.

David Padgett, from Victim Support in Essex, told the BBC how victims feared reprisals, particularly if the accused had been convicted. Victims could also be concerned the same could happen to others.

He said: "This can play on how people recover from their crime. It is pretty awful to find out someone has gone on the run. If that person suddenly appeared can you imagine how that would be?

"Some of these people are accused of some really nasty offences; rapes and grievous bodily harm."

The National Police Chiefs' Council lead for criminal justice performance, Deputy Chief Constable Gary Knighton, told the BBC officers based their decision on who to pursue on the severity of the offence.

Once a warrant is issued it is circulated on the Police National Computer.

The Government told the broadcaster individual forces were accountable for outstanding warrants.