More than 1,000 women and girls have been treated by the NHS for female genital mutilation over three months this year.

New NHS figures show that between April and June 1,036 cases of FGM were recorded. Nine of these were girls under 18 years old.

FGM is an illegal practice where women's genitalia are cut for cultural and/or religious reasons.

This data, recorded by Health and Social Care Information Centre, has come from women and girls who have reported their FGM, as well as information from GPs and mental health trust.

Since the HSCIC began recording FGM data in September 2014, there have been 4,989 cases reported in the UK. In the most recent survey, 60 of the 160 NHS trusts submitted data for one or more FGM attendances.

An Equality Now and City University study found that 137,000 women and girls were affected by FGM in England and Wales, but even this is a small proportion of the global numbers.

More than 130 million have experienced some form of FGM globally, and up to 30 million girls are likely to be cut in the next decade, according to UNICEF.

Despite FGM having been illegal since 1985 and the law being strengthened in 2003 preventing children travelling from the UK abroad to undergo FGM, there has yet to be a successful prosecution.

Tanya Barron, CEO of charity Plan UK, said: "It's shocking to see the extent of FGM here in the UK. We've seen hugely increased attention on this problem in the past few years and we are now waking up to the scale of this terrible practice.

"What we must always keep in mind though is that this is not specifically a British problem. FGM is a practice with an inherently global dimension. And while it's vital that we do everything we can to stop FGM here in the UK, as well as to support the girls and women affected by it, the reality is that this practice won't end in the UK until it is ended worldwide."