WHAT is believed to be Britain's first drop-in centre for male victims of domestic violence has been set up in the North-East.

Although wife-beating has long been taken seriously as a problem affecting thousands of women, the issue of violence in the home directed at men has largely been ignored or treated as a joke.

But according to the latest figures, eight per cent of domestic violence assaults are by women on men, and psychologist Duncan McKinnon is determined to see the issue is taken seriously.

Mr McKinnon has set up a support group for men based in the Sulgrave area of Washington, on Wearside, after helping suicidal friends through their crises - including depression, stress and domestic violence.

He claims that while women have support groups for a series of issues, men have largely been left to fend for themselves.

And with North-East men particularly reluctant to talk about their problems - especially being assaulted by their wife or girlfriend - he believes it is a service the region needs more than elsewhere.

Mr McKinnon, founder of the Men Only Drop-in Service, said: "In the North-East a man has to have a pint of beer and two birds in his hands at all times or he's not a real man.

"They are so obsessed with the image thing that when something happens they don't know how to handle it.

"A man tends to stare at all four walls or stand by the one-armed bandit in the pub rather than have a cry with his mates."

Mr McKinnon set the group up when two friends became suicidal and he realised the only place they could go was The Samaritans.

After securing initial £2,000 funding from the Lord Scarman Trust and the National Lottery, the service now has about 30 regular-users and he wants other downtrodden men to know there is an alternative to the bottle.

He added: "One man told me he was afraid to go home because his daughter, who was a drug addict, would break in and assault him with a frying pan. Another one said his wife would get drunk and become violent."

As well as providing advice and support for violence victims, the group also helps men get new jobs and deal with anxiety.

To contact the Men Only Drop-in Service, call 0191-431 9958