Kent's domestic violence shame has been revealed by figures showing the county has hundreds of serial offenders.

As many as 425 people - including 36 women - are known to have assaulted at least two partners.

A team of Kent Police officers has created the register of repeat offenders in a bid to break the cycle of crime.

Detectives have put a marker against their names on a crime database and could tell new partners about their violent background.

Det Supt Maria Shepherd, from Kent Police's public protection unit, said: "Domestic abuse accounts for about a fifth of all violent crime in Kent.

"There are nearly 22,000 incidents of domestic abuse in Kent each year or 60 a day. Significantly, there were five homicides in the last financial year in Kent linked to domestic abuse.

"By focusing on serial perpetrators police around the country can track relationships where victims or children are at risk and intervene before anyone is hurt.

"This is particularly important where offenders move outside county boundaries.

"domestic abuse accounts for about a fifth of all violent crime in kent…” – det supt maria shepherd

"Once we've identified a serial perpetrator and he or she moves onto a new relationship, we can make a decision about whether we should let their new partner know about the offender's violent background.

"This is designed to better protect potential victims but we also seek to use the opportunity to encourage perpetrators to enter rehabilitation voluntarily.

"Our ultimate aim is to reduce the amount of domestic abuse in our community, make it unacceptable and therefore improve the quality of people's lives."

As well as pushing for prosecutions on domestic violence, police are also encouraging offenders to change their ways voluntarily by enrolling on a course.