The number of children reported missing from their homes in Greater Manchester has soared by 270% in the last three years a Freedom of Information request has show. 

Figures suggest nationally the number of children who are reported as having ran away from home may reach 100,000 a year.

Wigan Today/Wigan Observer report:

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Railway Children shows an increase of around 270 per cent in the number of reports of missing youngsters between 2008 and 2011.

More than 2,000 children under the age of 16 were reported missing in 2011, rising from 571 in 2008. the majority choosing to flee life at home or in care.

You can read the full story here.

Matthew Burgess
http://www.mattburgess.co
I am a journalist and author. I am a journalist at the UK edition of WIRED magazine. In 2015, my first book Freedom of Information: A Practical Guide for UK Journalists, was published. My second book Reed Hastings: Building Netflix, was published in March 2020. I created FOI Directory in 2012 and have maintained it in my spare time ever since.