Essex Police have hit out at a national newspaper for being alarmist by claiming more than 800 paedophiles live in the county.

Colchester tops the table for East Anglia according to the lists, which claim there are 331 paedophiles in the town.

But Essex Police had 383 names on its list of sex offenders for the entire county as of December 14, a spokeswoman said.

And that number relates to all categories of sex offenders, from more minor offences such as indecent exposure to paedophilia.

"Of that 383, only a very small number are known to be paedophiles who have not offended within the family," the spokeswoman added.

She said the newspaper had not demonstrated where its figures had come from and said: "It's rather alarmist."

The force insisted that everyone on the official Sex Offenders' Register is closely monitored and that "naming and shaming" child attackers would only scare communities.

The official police figures fly in the face of statistics released by national newspapers, which suggest there are more than 800 paedophiles living in Essex.

These were released in the wake of the conviction of Roy Whiting for the abduction and murder of Sarah Payne. It was revealed after the trial that he had already served a short prison sentence for a similar offence.

The spokeswoman said: "The Sarah Payne case has highlighted the necessity for all police officers to be vigilant in the way they handle sex and other dangerous offenders within the community.

"We are monitoring all known sex offenders in Essex and have done so since the introduction of the Sex Offenders Act 1997."

Published Monday December 17, 2001