HATE crime against disabled people is the hidden scourge of our society, police claim.

Since April 1 in Bolton, there have been just three hate crimes reported to police which relate to disability.

This is dwarfed by the figure for race-related hate crime, and even the reporting of crimes focused on sexual orientation.

The incidents included the verbal abuse of someone with mental health problems, and domestic cases which had elements of prejudice towards disabled people.

But police believe these reports represent the tip of the iceberg.

Last week they attended a seminar hosted by Bolton Adult Asperger Support (BAAS) at The Bridge Church in Bradford Street to give advice to sufferers, as well as their families and carers.

Det Insp Charlotte Cadden, Bolton's lead on hate crime, said: "Disabled hate crime is really under-reported. People often do not comprehend or realise that they have been victims of a crime.

"One strand of this is 'mate crime', where offenders befriend people who may be vulnerable with a view to getting money out of them.

"This is particularly problematic for people with autism as they may not see that what someone is doing is taking advantage of them."

Speakers at the event included Professor Rita Jordan, a lecturer at Birmingham University, and autism sufferer Ros Blackburn, who spoke about her experiences in living with autism and tackling prejudice.

The seminar focused specifically on the issue of autism for over-18s, with Graham Heywood, the event's organiser, saying support for adults with autism is typically harder to come by through councils and the NHS, than with children or older people.

Graham Heywood, chairman of BAAS, said: "A lot of people here today are parents or carers of children on the autism spectrum and many of them are really glad they have come as they can share what they have lived with for some time with other people.

"We want to help them cope with the problems that they have.

"A lot of people have been to the GMP stall and been given information which is going to help them deal with hate crime.

"People on the autism spectrum are vulnerable, and getting that message across that abuse against them is a form of hate crime is important."