Thames Valley Police does not know where five convicted sex offenders are, according to police records.

Police are refusing to name the five individuals – four of whom have been missing for more than a year.

Registered sex offenders, including those convicted of paedophilia and rape, are required by law to inform the authorities of their whereabouts in order for them to be monitored.

Thames Valley Police said that these untraced offenders are likely to have left the country.

Charlotte Redman, spokesman for Thames Valley Police, said: “Thames Valley Police is committed to the robust management of registered sex offenders (RSOs).

“The five offenders referred to in this report represent less than a quarter of one percent of our total number of RSOs.

“In line with the national picture the majority of RSOs that go missing are likely to have left the country, however we continue to pursue enquires to locate any missing RSO.”

In total, there are 2,163 RSOs in the Thames Valley area.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Press Association to 39 forces shows that 394 sex offenders are wanted by the local authorities because their whereabouts is unknown.

Police forces revealed the number of offenders whose whereabouts were unknown in February or early March.

Some offenders have gone untraced for more than a decade, with the Metropolitan Police having the largest number of missing sex offenders, with 167.

West Midlands Police followed with 39 missing sex offenders and then Greater Manchester Police with 25.