THE number of assaults in Nailsea has more than doubled compared to this time last year - and the rise is being blamed on domestic violence

THE number of assaults in Nailsea has more than doubled compared to this time last year - and the rise is being blamed on domestic violence.Nailsea community beat officer PC Adam Clarke presented the shocking figures, which show the number of assaults rose by more than 50 per cent in July and August in 2007, to a meeting of the town's Local Action Team.But police say although some of the assaults were as a result of fights between drunken youths, a large majority of the calls were to domestic incidents.PC Clarke said: "Often alcohol is catalyst in many assault cases and it may be that we have been called to one address on a number of occasions."National statistics show that a domestic abuse victim is abused more than 30 times before they actually pluck up the courage to call the police."The rise in calls may not only be because domestic violence is increasing, but also that people are reporting it more."Other crime statistics for the town showed criminal damage levels had remained at the same level for the months of July and August but that crime overall was up for the period from 90 to 117 crimes.The number of commercial burglaries had also doubled from six to 14 - the equivalent of two a week over the two months.House burglary had also slightly risen with seven reported cases in July and August last year, compared to eight this year.PC Clarke said that a person had been arrested in connection with the burglaries and admitted six of them.Detection rates for the northern sector - which covers the towns of Nailsea, Clevedon and Portishead and the surrounding villages were better than the Avon and Somerset Police average of 24.7 per cent at 29.6 per cent.Overall, force statistics show the number of common assaults, sexual offences, burglary and robbery across the force had risen while the number of burglaries and thefts from vehicles had dropped. North Somerset Police Sector Inspector Steve Date said: "I would like to reassure the residents of Nailsea that it is still a safe place to live. "Overall we have seen a reduction in violence compared to previous years. "We had a busy two month period this summer, which saw a rise in domestic related assaults. "All were of a very minor nature and dealt with positively by the police."We take all reports of domestic assaults seriously and will record even if very minor.