Police Scotland has partly blamed online trolls for a fall in the number of hate crimes solved.

There were 5% fewer incidents reported last year but nearly 16% fewer were solved.

The force said the reason is "not absolutely clear" but warned social networks give anonymity to offenders.

In a report to the Scottish Police Authority, deputy chief constable Iain Livingstone said: "One factor perhaps for consideration is the increasing use of social media.

"These forums arguably provide greater opportunity for hate incidents to occur and can offer an element of perceived anonymity for offenders.

"Crime data and intelligence logs report the creation of fake accounts, specifically for the purpose of posting hate messages."

He added: "In addition, the use of technology in the perpetration of hate crimes presents significant challenges to Police Scotland, in terms of identifying and tracing offenders."

There were 6788 hate crimes reported to police in 2015/16 compared to 6470 in 2016/17, a fall of 4.7%.

There were fewer racist and religious crimes reported but more homophobic and transphobic incidents. The number of disablist incidents was exactly the same year to year.

Reported hate crimes against transgender people rose by a third, which the force attributed to greater confidence in the police from the LGBTI community.

Chief constable Phil Gormley said tackling intolerance and prejudice is an "absolute priority" for Police Scotland.