SPECIALIST domestic abuse courts are being piloted to secure more convictions.

The project, which has been backed by £20,000 from the Home Office, will mean a range of measures are introduced to increase the number of early guilty pleas and reduce the number of retracted statements.

Victims will be helped by an independent advocate, who will support them from the moment a complaint is made to the conclusion of court proceedings.

The advocate will be contacted via a 24-hour helpline. In more serious cases, the advocate will go out with the police when officers attend incidents.

Domestic abuse cases will be fast-tracked through the courts and listed on the same day when a specially trained prosecutor, clerk and at least one trained magistrate are available.

Trial dates will be fixed at the earliest opportunity to reduce the time between the complaint and the court appearance.

The pilot project will run until March and will be based at Scarborough Magistrates' Court. It has been in development for two years and is part of the Making Safe scheme, co-ordinated through the Safer Communities Partnership in Scarborough and Ryedale.

Sandra Rees, from the partnership, said most unsuccessful prosecutions in North Yorkshire were due to victims or witnesses not supporting the case.

She said: "For some time now, agencies from both the voluntary and statutory sector under the Safer Communities Partnership in Scarborough and Ryedale have been working together to tackle domestic abuse by developing initiatives that work with both the victim and offender to ensure the victim's safety at all times.

"The specialist domestic violence court will enhance the services already in place.

"We hope it will support better outcomes at court and reduce repeat incidents, reducing retractions by victims who feel vulnerable or are intimidated by the offender, and will increase people's confidence in reporting domestic abuse as they will be supported and informed through the process of making a complaint.

"This court sitting is the result of a lot of hard work by representatives from a number of agencies, and we anticipate it will ensure that all domestic violence cases are given priority and dealt with by experienced staff from all agencies.