More than 300 reports of child cruelty and neglect were recorded across Cumbria over a two-year period.

The troubling incidents included young children being left at home, assaulted - and being left in the care of people under the influence of alcohol.

Cumbria Police and Cumbria County Council have given their backing to a national campaign aimed at protecting children and young people from such incidents of abuse and neglect.

The Department for Education, which launched the initiative, says that a third of people who suspect child abuse do not report it through fear that they could be wrong.

Cumbria Police issued figures, saying it recorded 307 child cruelty and neglect offences between April 2015 and March 2017.

Detective Inspector Jason McKenna said: “We recognise that reporting a suspicion of child abuse or neglect is not an easy thing to do.

"But if you have a feeling that something isn’t right, it is better to be safe than sorry.

“Anything you may notice may help a child at risk, and could form part of a bigger picture."

The campaign - Together, we can tackle child abuse - is encouraging people to raise concerns they may have about child abuse, even if they are not absolutely sure of their suspicions.

This week, Cumbria Police will be holding an open forum event on Facebook.

It will allow people to have questions regarding child abuse and neglect answered by representatives from the force, children’s services team and the NSPCC.

DI McKenna added: "Every child deserves to be protected and even if you aren’t absolutely certain of what you’ve seen or heard, there are many people you can talk to who will then be able to investigate further.

“The Facebook event will give everyone an extra opportunity to seek advice from a range of agencies in one place, and I encourage anyone with questions to get in touch.”

Changes in a child’s appearance, behaviour and communication can be key indicators to spotting abuse or neglect.

A spokesman for the NSPCC added: “Neglect is the ongoing failure to meet a child's basic needs and is the most common form of child abuse.

“Neglect can be in many forms."

He said this could range from physical, emotional, medical neglect - or a child being put in danger or not protected from other forms of abuse.

In one of the more striking cruelty cases in the last year, investigators who called at a "filthy" house found two toddlers had been fed from their bottles with Coca-Cola.

One of the youngsters had dental decay as a result of cruel neglect at the hands of a couple.

The man and woman, both of Whitehaven, were sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court.

They had each admitted four child cruelty charges.

Cumbria’s crime commissioner, Peter McCall, said: “Protecting our youngsters from child abuse is a key priority for the police.

“It is appalling that in this day and age, a small number of children and young people can still being subjected to awful treatment by their parents or carers.

“This is totally unacceptable, and we must all do our bit to look out for the signs and encourage reporting when in doubt.

"It is only by working together to raise awareness that we can keep our children safe.”