MEN are being urged not to suffer in silence.

The Mankind Initiative, which works alongside North Wales Police (NWP), supports male victims of domestic abuse and has seen an increase of calls to its hotline of 35 percent during the pandemic.

The charity's website has also seen a site visit increase of 150 percent, with 60 percent of callers making contact for the first time.

NWP strategic domestic abuse officer PC Mike Taggart said “I think it’s important that we don’t forget that men too can be victims of domestic abuse and we need to ensure that platforms to support men are equally and readily available, we urge any men who feel that they are being subjected to domestic abuse to call Mankind if they feel they want emotional support, but if they wish to report domestic abuse, to contact us on 101 or 999 in an emergency.”

Call the helpline on 01823 334244 from 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.

For information, including specific support through lock down, visit mankind.org.uk