Latest available figures, for 2019, show that at least 21,369 children were detained in cells overnight. Only a third had been arrested.
Of these, 244 were aged 12 or younger, including nine who were just 10 years old.
The figures have been revealed in a report by Just for Kids Law (JFKL). It warns that the number of very young people kept in custody overnight could be even higher, as only a minority of police forces provided the charity with custody data for young children.
Black children are being disproportionally detained overnight, accounting for more than a fifth of children in cells, the charity also found. In addition, 15 per cent of children included in the report are from other minority ethnic backgrounds.
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