Police in Kingston logged eight instances of looked after children going missing from care in 2012/13, a report has said.

The children, most of whom were 16 or older, went missing on 22 separate occasions, according to the Kingston Safeguarding Children Board’s annual report.

A Missing Children Review Panel now meets every six weeks to monitor performance and identify problem areas.

There were 134 looked after children in Kingston in March this year, the report adds.

Other parts of the report detail work being done to combat problems such as forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

Schools and hospitals are increasingly aware of forced marriage, the authors said, with the beginning of summer holidays a time when children can be particularly vulnerable.

The “hidden nature” of female genital mutilation means it is difficult to keep track of, they added, but almost three dozen police officers and health and social workers have attended training sessions on the issue.