A NORTH-EAST MP says more needs to be done to protect women from becoming victims of domestic violence.

Helen Goodman, MP for Bishop Auckland, has spoken out after 44-year-old Kathryn Cook, of Penshaw Gardens, Stanley, County Durham, died as a result of abuse from her partner.

“I was profoundly saddened by the story of Kathryn Cook, who was put in a permanent vegetative state and later died as the result of an attack by her ex-partner,” said Mrs Goodman.

“Kathryn’s story is bleak reminder of the tragic human cost of domestic violence, which must not be ignored.

“The untold suffering of women like Kathryn across the region must not continue to go unrecognised and unchallenged.

“Indeed, cases such as Kathryn’s should serve as a wake-up call to the need for greater action to prevent incidents from happening again, not to mention the lifeshattering impact they have.”

Paul Northey, of Wylam Road, Stanley, was jailed for life last month after being found guilty of Ms Cook’s murder.

She was found unconscious in her bedroom on June 25, 2008, by her daughter, Rebecca, who was ten at the time.

Clumps of her hair had been pulled out and she had been throttled so hard her eyes had bled. She also suffered a blow to the side of the head that made her ears bleed and was hit so hard on the back of the head she slipped in to a coma.

She died six months later.

Mrs Goodman said her studies revealed that one person every two years dies in her constituency because of domestic violence.

She said there was a lot of good work taking place through Durham Police, but that more needed to be done.

“One death in two years is too many,” she said. “We need to be taking action before cases get to this stage.

“I feel that a firmer and more vigilant approach is needed by the police to adequately address this issue.

“Given that the domestic violence rate in the North-East is higher than average, it ought to be firmly ingrained as one of the police’s top priorities.

A spokeswoman for Durham Police said: “We consider that domestic abuse is an abhorrent crime which is completely unacceptable.

“We act positively to protect survivors of domestic abuse by working in partnership with a whole range of agencies to support and encourage them and to minimise the devastating impact that the abuse has on them and their families.

“All too often people suffer attacks in silence, and our aim is to increase confidence to ensure that incidents of domestic abuse do not go unreported, and that when people do find the strength to come forward, that they are provided with the best possible support and they are made to feel safe.”