Domestic violence is "chronically underreported", police say

During the operation, which ran from 14 December to 6 January, 471 reports were logged compared to 431 during the same period in 2006.

Arrests were up from 131 to 193, with the number of people charged rising from 49 to 70.

Assistant Chief Constable Graham Sunderland said victims had shown the "courage" to report incidents.

He added: "Domestic violence is a gross breach of trust and is committed by the weak and cowardly against the vulnerable.

"The results of this campaign reveal that an increased number of victims have found the courage to report incidents of domestic violence.

"However, domestic violence continues to be chronically underreported with only an estimated 35 per cent of all incidents being reported to us."