A Women's Aid helpline recorded a 70 per cent jump in calls last year.

The freephone service began running 24 hours a day in 2016 and logged nearly 16 thousand calls, compared to over 9 thousand the previous year.

Officials in the group are pointing out that calls between 10pm and 10am had gone unanswered in previous years.

They say the safest time for many women to call for help is in the early hours of the morning.