A NATIONAL charity's concerns that children in the county could be more at risk from sexual predators than in other regions has been refuted by Lancashire police.

Research by the NSPCC showed that only one in six applications to the force under Sarah's Law received a response.

This meant that, of 235 applications made between 2010 and 2014, only seven (three per cent) received a response.

Sarah's law, introduced in 2011 after the murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne, allows people to ask police if someone who has contact with their child has been convicted or suspected of child abuse.

But the NSPCC's research revealed that the response rate varied among police forces, amounting to a 'postcode lottery'.

In Cleveland, for instance, disclosures were made in response to 89 per cent of the 147 requests.

Peter Wanless, NSPCC chief executive, said: “We're both disturbed and surprised by this wide discrepancy of figures across the country, revealing that there is a postcode lottery when it comes to how forces deal with Sarah’s law.

“Families need to know if there are individuals in their area who pose a risk to children.

"How can you expect parents to make the right choices in order to protect their children if they don’t know who is a threat?”

But Det Supt Due Cawley, head of public protection with Lancashire police, said: "We robustly manage the registered sex offenders residing in Lancashire and as such routinely make proactive disclosures to affected people .

“When we do receive a request under Sarah’s Law, we put the risk to children at the heart of our decision making.

"However, we must also take into account other considerations such as risk to communities and the risk to life of individuals through vigilantism.

"Where it is assessed and deemed appropriate to disclose, we do."

“We welcome the NSPCC highlighting this issue and reinforce our commitment to protecting children and families in Lancashire."

Chief Constable Simon Bailey, National Police Chiefs' Council lead on child protection, said the figures were potentially misleading.

He said on occasion information was not provided on request because there were no relevant details to release.