SUFFOLK Constabulary has received at least three allegations of people being abused by Jimmy Savile, it has emerged.

The accusations have all been passed on the Metropolitan Police, which is heading up a nationwide inquiry into the paedophile BBC presenter and disc jockey’s litany of sexual abuse on underage girls and women dating back more than 40 years.

Suffolk police never received any allegations against Savile while he was alive or before the current investigation – codenamed Operation Yewtree - began.

However, it has confirmed that in the first month of the inquiry it received three complaints relating to Savile, who died last year at the age of 84. The investigation began in October this year.

Details of any further accusations which may have been made in November or December were not available.

Eight people, including several high-profile names, have been arrested so far during the wide-ranging inquiry involving Savile and others.

A spokesman for Suffolk Constabulary said: “Prior to the commencement of the Met investigation and to Jimmy Savile’s death, Suffolk Constabulary received no reports of abuse in relation to him.

“Since the start of the Met investigation (up to October 30), Suffolk Constabulary has received a total of three complaints/allegations in relation to Jimmy Savile, all of which were forwarded to Operation Yewtree.

“We would encourage anyone who wishes to raise concerns - no matter how historic - to come forward and contact the police.”

Two of the complaints were received between October 24 and October 30, according to police.

By mid-December the Metropolitan Police said 31 allegations of rape had been made against Savile.

A total of 589 people had come forward with information relating to the scandal, with 450 complaints against the BBC presenter and DJ himself, mainly alleging sexual abuse, Scotland Yard said.

Ten weeks after the launch of Operation Yewtree, police had recorded 199 crimes in 17 force areas in which Savile is a suspect, with 31 allegations of rape recorded against him in seven force areas.

Officers are looking at three strands within their inquiry - claims against Savile, those against Savile and others, and those against others.

Operation Yewtree has 30 officers and has cost around �2m to date.

Police and the NSPCC are compiling a report, which they hope to publish in the new year, to provide an overview of Savile’s activities.

Other inquiries being carried out into Savile’s behaviour, besides Operation Yewtree, include the director of public prosecutions’ review into the decision not to prosecute Savile in 2009

The NSPCC is also launching a campaign in a bid to prevent people thinking sexual abuse is a problem from the past following the Savile disclosures.

The charity is worried that, due to many of Savile’s victims being abused in the 1970s and 80s, people may believe sexual abuse is not as common now as it was then.