And there were more antisemitic attacks in Greater Manchester than in London in 2011 - despite London's Jewish population being nearly seven times bigger than Greater Manchester.

The Community Security Trust's annual report said there were 244 incidents in the North-West - 111 in Salford, 74 in Bury and 40 in Manchester.

This is an increase of 28 on the previous year.

And the incident totals in Greater Manchester since 2003 have risen steadily year-on-year.

Manchester Jewish Representative Council president Lucille Cohen said she was perturbed by the figures.

She told the Jewish Telegraph: "I am naturally concerned."

The CST report said there was one incident of extreme violence in Britain - and it happened to be in Manchester.

It occurred when a Jewish family were filling up their car at a petrol station.

As a female family member crossed the forecourt to pay, a car containing two white women reversed into her, knocking her to the ground.

The occupants then got out of their car, shouted "dirty Jew" and spat at the injured woman lying on the ground.

They then got back into their car and drove away.

The CST recorded 586 antisemitic incidents in the UK in 2011 - a nine per cent fall from the previous year's 645 .

It is the second year in a row that the national total of antisemitic incidents recorded by CST has fallen - from the record high of 929 in 2009.

But it is still the fourth highest on record.

Crimes in Greater Manchester included 46 assaults, 21 incidents of damage or desecration, 15 threats and 162 incidents of abusive behaviour.

Among other incidents recorded in Greater Manchester were:

A Jewish man was walking along the pavement when a car containing a white couple drove past him.

The man jumped out, knocked the victim's yarmulke off his head and punched him several times, breaking his glasses and giving him a black eye and a small cut to the face.

Someone shouted at a Jewish cyclist: "I'll take your f***ing nose off, you big-nosed f***ing Jew".

Two Jewish girls were approached by two other girls - one white and one mixed-race - who held cigarette lighters to them and threatened to "burn you like Hitler".

A Jewish schoolboy was standing outside his school when a south Asian couple walked past, and the man said, "F***ing Jewish c***, Palestine belongs to us".

Mrs Cohen said: "The analysis of the figures requires an understanding of the improved mechanisms of reporting that exists in Manchester

"Our community must be extremely grateful for the close co-operation which exists between the CST and Greater Manchester Police.

"We should exercise appropriate caution and ensure that our homes are suitably protected - society in general is under more pressure than ever.

"We always have to maintain vigilance and we have to be careful.

"But Manchester remains a fantastic place for the Jewish community to live."

CST received a physical description of the perpetrator on 37 percent of the antisemitic incidents during 2011.

Of these, 51 percent were described as "white north European", 10 per cent as "white south European", five per cent as "black", 27 per cent were described as "south Asian" and seven per cent as "Arab or north African".

Greater Manchester Police's Chief Superintendent Jon Rush, who is the divisional commander for Bury, declared that the number of antisemitic assaults was far too high.

He said: "People in our Jewish communities should be able to go safely and freely about their business without fear of being attacked.

"So this is the area we accept we need to tackle.

"Any incident motivated by religious or racial hatred is abhorrent and can cause people a great deal of upset.

"We do not want people to suffer in silence and think they should not speak out when they are subjected to any form of abuse.

"We want them to tell us so that we can bring the offenders to justice."

But he added that the increase was evidence that the Jewish communities are more confident in reporting any incidents and that Greater Manchester Police, working alongside the CST, will give victims its full support.

CST director of communications Mark Gardner said that despite the number of incidents, Jewish communal life in Manchester is thriving.

He told the Jewish Telegraph: "The statistic need to be seen within that context.

"More than anything, these statistics reflect a relatively high rate of reporting between the Jewish community, the CST and the police.

"We certainly do not wish to portray Manchester as being an especially dangerous place for Jews to live.

"Reporting it reflects the community's refusal to put up with it, rather than a sudden change in antisemitism in Greater Manchester."