Experts at Sunderland University estimate one in ten women in the city have been the victims of abuse in the home.

The International Centre for the Study of Violence and Abuse, based at the university, says more than 4,600 incidents of domestic violence were reported to police between April 2001 and March 2002.

And city council bosses say the cost of policing, re-housing, counselling and legal services topped the �10m mark.

�1,322 for each victim - although the mental and physical costs for each victim cannot be put into financial terms

Sunderland City Council

A university spokesman said: "These incidents were reported by 2,700 victims - mostly women.

"But because so few women tend to report abuse to the police, the university team has calculated that there was actually in the region of 14,000 incidents like this, affecting 8,000 women in Sunderland.

"That's almost 10% of the city's female population."

Violent crime

A spokesman for Sunderland City Council said: "The cost of providing legal services, housing, counselling and social services has therefore been put at �10m.

"That is �1,322 for each victim - although the mental and physical costs for each victim cannot be put into financial terms."

Nationally, the Crown Prosecution Service deals with 13,000 cases of domestic violence a year.

One-third of all murders in England and Wales are classed as 'domestic incidents'.

This kind of crime accounts for a quarter of all violent crime.