THE CHIEF Constable of Wiltshire Police last night appealed to Swindon councillors to throw their weight and money behind a bid to clamp down on domestic violence.

Elizabeth Neville made an impassioned plea for help on the issue, which she said had become one of her force's most pressing priorities.

She rattled off a list of startling statistics that sent a shiver down the spine of the council chamber at last night's full council meeting.

Adding gravitas to her argument, she also displayed six names on a board in the chamber of young Swindon people who had been killed by their partners in the past five years following a catalogue of domestic violence.

She said domestic violence costs Swindon an estimated £3.5m a year from the budgets of the police, health, housing, education and social services.

Miss Neville outlined a project to try to reduce domestic violence by sharing information between those services more and identify problems earlier. The plan is to set up a team of five outreach workers to help victims.

Her force and Wiltshire Health Authority have each committed £179,000 towards the scheme over two years, while Wiltshire County Council and the county's smaller district councils have all contributed a share.

Swindon Council has so far only offered £8,000, but Miss Neville asked for a total outlay of £51,000 over two years.

She said: "Our research on crime and disorder in Wiltshire tells us that domestic violence comes out right at the top of our list of crime issues that need dealing with.

"The police are often the last to find out about it and by then it can be too late. Many council departments and the health service can often gain information earlier than us.

"If that information was shared, then it could be invaluable in helping us identify problems and we might even be able to save lives and make lives better for children and families.

"But there is also a strong business case for this scheme, because it could help produce real savings for everyone in the long term."

Miss Neville admitted her force had only begun to realise how big a problem domestic violence is in the past five years.

Among the facts and figures she quoted were:

n Over the last 14 years, 37 people in Wiltshire have died as a result of domestic violence;

n Wiltshire Police receives 2,400 calls a year about domestic violence seven calls a day in Swindon;

n Victims of domestic violence suffer 35 incidents on average before reporting it to the police, but 80 to 85 per cent of victims don't report it at all. That means the real number of incidents in Swindon each year is thought to be around 15,000.

In 90 per cent of cases, children are present in the same room or the room next door.