A WORLD Cup poster campaign has been launched to urge people to 'blow the whistle' on domestic violence.

A range of new posters, all on the football theme, has been launched by Lancashire police and will be distributed across East Lancashire to tackle the problem of rising domestic violence during the football frenzy.

One of the posters warns foul play will not be tolerated at home, while another has the line 'don't make your child a referee'.

Although incidents of domestic violence frequently increase when major national events take place and sometimes where alcohol is involved, police are keen to stress that the World Cup is simply being used to raise awareness of domestic violence, not because the competition poses a significant threat.

Domestic violence liaison officer for Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale, PC Karen Kenworthy said: "The World Cup has captured the imagination of the whole country so we thought we could use the competition to help raise awareness of domestic violence.

"The idea behind the campaign, which is supported by our local community safety partnerships and John Stephenson & Son wine, beer and spirits merchants, is to keep the issue at the forefront of people's minds and where appropriate, encourage them to report incidents.

"Last year more than 22,000 people were involved in domestic violence incidents across Lancashire and many more cases probably went unreported.

"Domestic violence will not be tolerated. Just because it happens out of sight and involves two people who know each other does not make it any less of a crime."

Lancashire's domestic violence co-ordinator, Insp Joyce Green, said: "We have several initiatives planned for June which include having a domestic violence officer on duty during televised coverage of potential flashpoint matches."