Police tackle World Cup domestic abuse in Staffordshire

Campaigns to limit domestic violence are being launched to coincide with the football World Cup.

Police and council bosses in Tamworth, Staffordshire, have embarked upon a red card campaign.

Staff have toured pubs and clubs handing out the cards which give details of phone lines to help victims and those who carry out the attacks.

The campaigns have been launched on the advice of the Association of Chief Police Officers.

A spokesman for the association said it wanted to highlight that research showed cases of domestic abuse rise by nearly 30% on England match days.

The research was carried out during the 2006 World Cup, it said.

Hayley Cliff, of Pathway Project, an association which helps domestic abuse victims in South Staffordshire, said before the World Cup in 2006 the association got an average of three phone calls a day.

But he added that during the cup, the figure increased to an average of five a day.