Domestic violence is a huge problem. It is often a hidden crime

Spokeswoman for Victim Support

The 24 hour snapshot reveals that some of the victims of domestic violence had been raped or stabbed.

Some women had been kicked while they were pregnant. Others had been left with cuts and bleeding while in another incident a victim had their "throat slashed with a razor blade".

Four out of five calls were from women who have been attacked by men while almost one in 10 were from men who have been assaulted by women.

An average of 3% of calls to police across the UK relate to domestic violence.

In some areas, it is one in 10 calls while in London one in four of all violent crimes dealt with by the police is a domestic incident.

'A shocking reminder'

John Grieve, deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service's diversity unit, described the figures as shocking.

"The findings of this snapshot are a shocking reminder of the scale of domestic violence both in London and nationally.

"Domestic violence disregards gender, race, religion and age. Police cannot work in isolation and the statistics identify a need for all agencies to fully support the victim."

Professor Stanko: We need to help victims

Professor Betsy Stanko, from the University of London, who analysed the figures, said: "We now know that a person rings police for help for domestic violence every minute. "

She told the BBC: "What this shows is that men in Britain like men around the world also beat their wives.

"This figures gives us a sense of a greater committment to give assistance and support to victims of domestic violence."

A spokeswoman for Victim Support suggested that the figures may be even higher.

"We see people who never report to the police. Our figures are often higher than police figures.

"Domestic violence is a huge problem. It is often a hidden crime. People don't often talk about it and often people don't even know that is in going on because it is done behind closed doors.

"It is probably the one crime that goes most unreported."

The results of the snapshot survey will be examined in more detail at a global conference on domestic violence taking place in London on 29 and 30 October.