Police believe they may have found a way of breaking the pattern of repeated domestic violence if victims are prepared to report it, according to Home Office research.

The scheme was pioneered in Killingbeck, West Yorkshire, where domestic assaults accounted for one third of all violent crime in the area.

The new method involved enlisting friends and neighbours to support women who had already reported incidents of domestic violence.

They were asked to watch out for attacks, and call police if they saw or heard anything suspicious.

Most women reporting domestic violence have already been attacked dozens of times before.

Panic buttons and mobile phones are issued to women in fear

But as a result of the new method, 83% of abusive men dealt with by police did not re-offend, according to police statistics.

'Cocoon Watch'

The scheme worked by offering women reporting domestic violence the chance to join a "Cocoon Watch" scheme, in which friends and neighbours were asked to keep an eye on them and call police if their attackers appeared.

Under the scheme, police had three possible levels of action:

• Level one involved issuing the offender an official warning and possible criminal charges at a magistrates' court.

• Level two, for a woman attacked more than once recently, involved more warnings, a police bid to block bail if the man was charged, and extra protection for the woman's home.

• The highest level, for the most serious cases, could provide the victim with a panic button or mobile phone to call police if she was attacked again.

Home Office researchers found that using this new intensive policy, 83% of men visited at Level One stopped attacking their wives.

And, according to the report, "progressively more intensive interventions appear to reduce repeat attendance".

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