Domestic abuse victims are increasingly turning to the civil courts for protection because the police are failing to enforce the law of coercive control, it has emerged.

Three years ago it became an offence for a person to psychologically abuse their partner by restricting their freedom or forcing them to behave in a certain way.

The issue gained national prominence following a high profile storyline in Radio 4 soap, The Archers, in which character, Helen Titchner, was subjected to appalling mental torture by her controlling husband, Rob.

The gripping drama was credited with helping to bring the often hidden problem out into the open, and also encouraging many victims to come forward and report the abuse.

But despite more than 4,200 complaints being made to police last year across England and Wales, less than ten per cent of those cases resulted in prosecutions with even less ending in convictions.