More than 150 registered sex offenders are 'missing' across London, according to Metropolitan Police records.

A Freedom of Information request by the Press Association revealed the 167 sex offenders in London who they had lost track of were among 394 across the UK.

They include a Polish rapist who police appealed for help to find last week, saying they believed he may be hiding in Richmond.

Last Wednesday: Dangerous Polish rapist 'may be hiding in Richmond'. Have you seen him?

Surrey Police had lost trace of two sex offenders.

Rapists, paedophiles and other sex offenders are meant to tell police and probation officers where they are living and are supposed to be monitored by officials working under multi-agency public protection arrangements.

NSPCC figures revealed there was just one member of police staff responsible for every 50 sex offenders across England and Wales.

Former PC Sharon Girling, a founder member of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I'm slightly concerned because I feel the numbers are always increasing.

"We seem to be getting another five or 10 every year these numbers come out, which means we are not managing these offenders in the appropriate way that the public should expect us to be doing so."

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said a large percentage of missing sex offenders were "either known or believed to be living abroad, having returned to their country of origin".