Sex offender numbers fall in Lothians

THE number of registered sex offenders living across the Lothians has fallen over the last year.

New police figures showed that 486 registered sex offenders were resident in the Lothians last month compared with 503 in November last year.

The figures include 295 living in Edinburgh, 96 living in West Lothian, and 95 in East Lothian and Midlothian.

The number of registered sex offenders from the force area in prison rose during the same period, from 137 to 162.

Last month, it was revealed that 14 perverts put under special monitoring by Lothian and Borders Police due to their high risk of reoffending were sent back to prison in a single year.