A postcode lottery in the way rape cases are handled by police continues to exist, new figures suggest.

Data compiled by the cross-government, multi-agency Rape Monitoring Group showed significant disparities in the rate of recorded rapes, charges or cautions for the offence and records later declassified as a "no crime."

Rape charities have pointed to the figures as evidence of a "culture of disbelief" among some forces.

Northamptonshire Police had the highest rate of recorded rape out of the 443 forces examined, at 34.8 per 100,000 adults in the year to March 2013.

Durham Police had the lowest at 9.8 per 100,000 adults.

Lincolnshire Police had the highest "no-criming" rate for adult rapes - an offence initially recorded as rape, but then declassified - at 33 per cent, compared with Cumbria, which had the lowest no-criming rate at 3 per cent.

End Violence Against Women chairwoman Professor Liz Kelly said the findings could indicate "that the culture of scepticism remains in some police forces."

"This is not a surprise to us. Our member organisations know how deep disbelief and victim-blaming goes in institutions and communities," she said.

"But the police play a critical role enabling rape survivors to access justice, so these disparities and attitudes must be urgently tackled."

Rape Crisis England spokeswoman Katie Russell said releasing the data reflected a commitment to transparency and scrutiny of police practice.

But she added: "Nonetheless, Rape Crisis is still extremely concerned by the persistently high levels of 'no-criming' today's data reveals, as well as by the huge disparities in statistics between different police forces."