New figures show that the South East and London have the highest percentages of foster children that have gone missing across the whole of England.
The numbers, published by Ofsted, highlight similar trends from previous years - six percent of cases in the south east and five percent in London - the highest proportions of missing children in the country.
The statistics suggest that this may be linked to the disappearance of children thought to be trafficked into the UK and removed from foster care.
TOP STORIES: Ofsted revealed that across England, 5,060 children were reported as having gone missing while living with foster carers in 2014 to 2015, compared with 4,245 the year before.
Key: Local Authorities (LA) and Independent Fostering Agencies (IFA) totalling 17,175 (c.) Ofsted
These figures rest against a backdrop of mostly rising statistics in foster care throughout England - a two percent increase in children in care equating to 85,890 children and young people across the country.
More than 17,000 reports of missing children in foster care were documented throughout the recorded year with children in London and South East regions reported as missing an average of four times - 1,555 reports in London and 1,965 in the South East.
In the South East, an increase of 1,630 instances of missing children in foster care was reported - an increase of one fifth.
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