Children as young as 12 have been strip searched by West Yorkshire Police, according to new data.

The figures have been released through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request and come in the wake of outrage over Child Q.

The 15-year-old black schoolgirl, from Hackney in East London, was strip-searched by police after she was wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis at her school.

Protests and condemnation erupted after it emerged the teenager was searched by female Metropolitan Police officers without another adult present - and in the knowledge that she was menstruating.

A strip search is a search involving the removal of more than outer clothing and West Yorkshire Police figures show 285 youngsters were subjected to this type of search between the beginning of April 2017 and the end of March this year.

These can take place under stop and search powers and following arrest, in a police custody setting.

The PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence) code states: “A strip search may take place only if it is considered necessary to remove an article which a detainee would not be allowed to keep, and the officer reasonably considers the detainee might have concealed such an article.

“Strip searches shall not be routinely carried out if there is no reason to consider that articles are concealed.”

The force said welfare and safeguarding of youngsters is a priority and searches are subject to scrutiny.

The FOI figures include details of strip searches where the detainee was under the age of 18 at the time they were arrested.

Two 12-year-old boys, who were both black, were searched in the 2019-20 period, the figures reveal.

When looking at all strip searches of under-18s, 53.3 per cent of those searched were white; 14.1 per cent were Asian; 11.5 per cent were Black and almost nine per cent were mixed race.

The vast majority – nearly 85 per cent - of those subjected to strip searches were male.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “The Police and Criminal Evidence Act provides strict guidelines as to when and where strip searches can be carried out.

“There are a number of reasons why a search can be authorised; where the search involves a juvenile or vulnerable person then an appropriate adult must be contacted and present.

“The welfare and safeguarding of juveniles is a priority for West Yorkshire Police and searches are subject to scrutiny to ensure compliance with the legislation and guidance.”