VICTIMS of domestic violence in Ryedale will be given ground-breaking support in the law courts, it was revealed today.

A pilot scheme will see a new domestic abuse court fast-track those cases, hearing them at the first available opportunity.

The Home Office has granted £20,000 to set up the new court at Scarborough Magistrates Court - and any domestic abuse cases that come to light in Ryedale and the North York Moors will be dealt with there.

Unlike in traditional courts, victims of domestic abuse will be supported by an independent advocate, who will represent his or her interests from the moment a complaint is made to the conclusion of court proceedings - and will be available 24 hours a day on a helpline.

Even the court room itself will have separate entrances, exits and waiting areas, so victims are not confronted by their attackers.

The aim of the pilot, which will initially run for three months, is to increase the number of early guilty pleas and to reduce the number of retracted statements. The majority of unsuccessful prosecutions in North Yorkshire are due to victims or witnesses not supporting the case.

The scheme was spearheaded by Detective Sergeant Chris Gosling, of North Yorkshire Police, senior Crown prosecutor Jenni Kilvington, Ryedale's domestic abuse co-ordinator Sandra Rees, and the North Yorkshire Court Service.

Ms Kilvington, a domestic violence specialist, will prosecute the cases, and training has already been provided for clerks and a number of Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyers and magistrates.

Ms Rees 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.

"We hope it 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 all domestic violence cases are given priority and dealt with by experienced staff from all agencies."

The court at Scarborough will be the 26th specialist domestic violence court in the country. CPS figures show an improvement in successful prosecutions for such cases - 71 per cent of cases heard in the special courts, compared to 46 per cent overall in December, 2003.