Richmond Magistrates Court is offering emergency ser- vices to victims of violence who need protection immediately.

From this month the court will have family magistrates on a standby basis ready to hear non-molestation orders each weekday.

New provisions in the Family Law Act 1996, mean that anyone living with the threat of violence can apply for an order irrespective of whether they are married or children are involved.

To protect the victim the order can be heard without the perpetrator's knowledge.

Principal court clerk, Pamela Walter, said: "It is a totally different way of dealing with domestic violence and really widens the scope of applications under the domestic proceedings act. If it is very urgent we can get in touch with the court and set up a bench of magistrates from our standby list. Until now only the county court could grant this."

Applications have to be made between 8.30am and 4.30pm and staff at the court can help with filling in application forms.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000.Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.