One person is killed in a murder or manslaughter every 11 days in West Yorkshire, shock new figures have revealed.
The county is one of the top regions nationwide for the number of homicides - including infanticide - according to the Office of National Statistics.
Records show there were 32 homicides in West Yorkshire between April 2016 and March 2017, which is the highest number in five years and an increase of 8% from the year before, when there were 26 cases.
The homicide rate for the region stands at 13.9 cases per million people, and is sixth highest in the country.
The latest one in Huddersfield was the death of 37-year-old Graham Bell outside McDonald’s on John William Street in Huddersfield town centre on October 1.
Mr Bell, who lived in Dalton and was known to his friends as Jeff, suffered serious head injuries and died three days later at Leeds General Infirmary.
A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named because of his age, was charged with one count of manslaughter last month.
A trial is due to take place at Leeds Crown Court in August this year.
South Yorkshire topped the list due to the figure being skewed by the addition of the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster in light of the inquest’s conclusion of unlawful killing in April 2016.
The data for West Yorkshire means that there is a one in 72,000 chance of being a victim of murder, manslaughter or infanticide here in the region.
Nationally, men were more than twice as like as women to be homicide victims.
Last year was the second in a row that the number of men killed in homicides has risen, going back to totals last seen in 2010/11.
Babies less than a year old and young men aged 16 to 24 have the highest homicide rate.
The Office for National Statistics figures show the relationship of the suspect to the victim tended to vary depending on whether the victim was male or female.
