People who abuse their partners or family members at home will be punished more harshly than those who commit crimes in the street under new rules announced today.

The new guidelines on domestic abuse also mean those who use social media, email or messaging to control or attack their victims will be given tougher penalties as rules are brought up to date.

The Sentencing Council said the changes, announced today ahead of extra protections for victims of stalking due later in the year, will mean "an increase in sentence severity" for domestic abusers.

There is no specific crime of domestic abuse and previous rules stated that crimes which happen at home should be taken as "no less serious" than those perpetrated on the street or anywhere else.

As a result people who abused their partners or family members were often handed community sentences instead of time behind bars.