Baby death sparks rise in abuse calls; Tragic case leads to increase in tip-offs.

Byline: EMMA DAVISON

CALLS to the NSPCC Helpline about serious child abuse have increased significantly since the death of Baby Peter two years ago.

Between April 2008 and March 2009, the helpline passed on 11,243 suspected child protection cases to police or social services - an increase of more than a third over two years, the charity said.

And the figure is also going up in Kirklees in line with the rest of West Yorkshire.

In the county 7,522 calls were made by adults worried about a child.

Baby Peter died at the age of 17 months after months of violent abuse by his mother, her boyfriend and their lodger, despite being on Haringey Council's child protection register and being visited at least 60 times.

Christine Renouf, director of NSPCC helpline services, described his death as a wake-up call.

She said: "Fortunately people seem to be more aware of children who might be at risk of serious harm and are taking action to help them.

"The brutal torture and death of Baby Peter was terrible, but we know it was a wake-up call for some people to look out for children.

"More than one in three of our suspected child protection cases involve families not known to local authorities. It's also encouraging that so many people are now taking responsibility for stopping this abuse.

"It's becoming more and more diffi-culfor child abusers to hide their crimes."

In the year before Baby Peter's death, the NSPCC made 8,170 referrals, while the following year the figure rose to 9,620, the charity said.

The authorities took action to investigate and protect the children in nearly all (98%) of cases.

Many of the calls were about children being physically assaulted, sexually abused or badly neglected and came from neighbours, relatives and friends of the family.

In Kirklees, several high-profile cases of child abuse have been uncovered in recent years.

These include the case of two-year-old Sanam Navsarka who died in Deighton last year from 107 injuries and the murder of four-year-old Leticia Wright at Moldgreen.

Sanam's evil stepfather, 21-year-old Subhan Anwar, was jailed for a minimum of 23 years for her murder in February this year.

Her mother, 21-year-old Zahbeena Navsarka, was sentenced to nine years in jail after she was cleared of her daughter's murder but found guilty of her manslaughter.

Peter Seaton, 23, and his partner, Leticia's mother, Sharon Wright, 24, were jailed in August 2007 for her murder. Both must also serve at least 23 years.

But Clr Ken Smith, Kirklees Cabinet member for children, says it has been the shocking high-profile case of Baby Peter that has triggered more locals picking up the phone to report suspected child abuse.

"We have noticed a lot more people reporting things since the case, which is a good thing,'' he said.

"I think in the past people have been concerned, but not got round to picking up the phone and reporting that concern, but now they are much more vigilant.

"In this sense I think the Baby P case was more significant than local ones, but every case does tend to make people think about their worries for a child.

"People should never be afraid and always report worries they have and leave it to the professionals to have a look at. Neighbours may see things that could be used in evidence."

CAPTION(S):

UNCOVERED: The death of Baby Peter, left, prompted a rise in reports to the NSPCC - Kirklees has had two tragic cases, Sanam Navsarka, centre, in Deighton last year and Leticia Wright in Moldgreen in 2007