POWERFUL posters which aim to lift the lid on domestic abuse feature a little girl covered in paint and bearing the words 'For this little girl.......the fun stops here'.

The head-turning images will be appearing across Hambleton - after the Don't Suffer In Silence campaign inspired neighbouring crime-fighters to get on board.

The newly-appointed police domestic violence co-ordinator for the Central Area, Phil Arnold, said today that similar posters are set to appear in the York area in future. "I would fully support this," he said.

Hambleton Community Safety Partnership's year-long Don't Suffer In Silence campaign aims to increase the profile given to the "hidden crime" of domestic violence.

With the school holidays beginning, its focus is turning to young people who are affected in many different ways.

The campaign has been so successful in its first six months - featuring Valentine's Day, Mother's and Father's days - that neighbouring crime-fighters are joining the scheme.

Members of Richmondshire Community Safety Partnership are coming on board, and the posters will go up around both districts over the coming months.

Nationally, at least 750,000 children a year witness domestic violence - in 90 per cent of all domestic violence incidents children will be in the same or neighbouring room.

"Children can be affected by domestic violence in lots of different ways - and one thing that's certain is that is does have an impact on them," said domestic violence co-ordinator for both partnerships, Catherine McNaughton.

"The effects tend to vary according to how old they are, the level of violence, the length of time the violence has been happening and how much support they have had from others around them."

She said that although some people believe children do not know what is happening because they have not witnessed the violence, most are very aware of what is going on.

"They often feel responsible and may need to be reassured that it's not their fault. It may not be obvious to them and could be causing them a lot of pain and unnecessary suffering.

"Some youngsters are afraid to talk for fear of causing further worry and upset. It's often a huge relief to children to have this silence broken and able to share their thoughts and feelings instead of bottling them up."

Last year in Hambleton there were 355 reported incidents of domestic abuse - 120 more than in 2002. Of those 160 were repeat attacks. Nationally, Women's Aid reports that 106,118 children received support for domestic violence in 2003/04.

Updated: 10:14 Wednesday, July 27, 2005