Last year more than 1,000 incidents were reported to Strathclyde Police in the space of two weeks.

Chief Constable Willie Rae said it was "saddening" that 80% of those incidents took place within the home.

Christmas is supposed to be a time for family and friends to get together and enjoy the festivities, but the sad reality is that some people are terrified in their own home Chief Constable Willie Rae

"The tragic reality is made even more poignant when statistics show that children are present either in the room or house when incidents of domestic violence occurs," he said.

Figures compiled by the force showed that incidents soared during the Christmas period.

Children were in the house during 40% of the incidents, and in the same room in a fifth of cases.

The overwhelming majority of the victims of domestic abuse were women.

Mr Rae said: "Unfortunately, people can be victims of domestic violence at any time of the year.

'No excuse'

"However, past trends have revealed that incidents of domestic abuse rise over the festive period."

He said there was "no excuse" for violent behaviour.

"Christmas is supposed to be a time for family and friends to get together and enjoy the festivities, but the sad reality is that some people are terrified in their own home," said Mr Rae.

"In the UK the police receive a call every minute of the day about domestic violence and one in four women in Britain will become a victim at some point in their lives."

Contact the police

Superintendent Bob Renfrew, the force's co-ordinator for domestic abuse, said that Strathclyde Police took the issue extremely seriously.

"Our officers are fully committed to dealing with cases in an appropriate and sympathetic manner," he said.

"Every officer is trained in dealing with incidents of domestic abuse and people shouldn't be afraid or reluctant to contact the police.

"We work very closely with our partner agencies and together we can help people end the misery and terror of domestic abuse."