POLICE have hailed a World Cup “success”.

Officers in West Yorkshire targeted domestic violence during the soccer tournament in South Africa.

They feared there would be an increase in violence during the football, with people drinking more.

But there were almost 700 fewer victims of domestic violence compared with the World Cup of 2006, even though the number of calls went up.

West Yorkshire Police teamed up with West Yorkshire Probation Trust and local councils to raise awareness of domestic violence, where people can go for help and advice for both victims and perpetrators.

In all there were 3,263 reports of domestic violence during the World Cup, compared to 3,957 in the cup competition in 2006.

However there was an increase of 3.5% of the number of incidents reported compared with the same 31-day period in 2009.

On days when England played, officers received an increase in the number of calls taken from victims compared with the same dates last year.

When England faced Algeria there were 208 calls, and when England beat Slovenia 1-0 officers received 221 reports.

Police saw the highest number of reports when England were defeated by Germany with 284 calls which is almost a 19% increase compared with last year.

Det Insp Granville Ward said: “I am pleased to see that victims are coming forward to report incidents of domestic violence and that they can be confident they will get the help and support needed.

“The increases we saw on match days, particularly the Wednesday match against Slovenia, could be down to people drinking earlier in the day and possibly for longer on a day when people would be at work.

“Even though we saw fewer victims this World Cup, we still saw increases during and after the England matches, which is why is it important that we raise as much awareness of services available for both victims and perpetrators.

“Domestic violence is a serious crime and we do not want anyone to suffer in silence.”

Help or advice can be found by contacting the following:

West Yorkshire Police on 0845 60 60 606, in an emergency call 999 or you can visit www.westyorkshire.police.uk.

If you are a woman at risk of abuse you can call 0808 200 0247 Women’s Aid – The National Domestic Violence help line.