TRIALS allowing people to find out if their partners have a history of domestic violence have been welcomed by East Lancashire charities.

Vivien Blackledge, of Women's Aid in Blackburn, said that the introduction of ‘Clare’s Law’ – named after a Salford woman who was strangled and set on fire by her ex-boyfriend – would allow people to make ‘informed choices’ about their relationships.

The Home Office has announced year-long trials will soon start, giving partners the ‘right to ask’ police for information in the Manchester area, Nottinghamshire, Wiltshire and Gwent.

Some domestic violence charities have criticised the move, saying the Home Office should start by improving how police respond to calls for help.

Mrs Blackledge has been consulted on the proposals locally. She said: “Our response is that it’s a very positive thing.

“If people are allowed to ask questions, they can make informed choices about whether they want to continue with the relationship. It’s especially important to know about someone’s background if there’s child protection issues, because it means that social services can express concerns and share information with the partner.”

Fine details on what information partners would be able to access are yet to be decided, and Mrs Blackledge said it was important that perpetrators were not “demonised”.

She said: “You’d need to prove that you were in an intimate relationship to get the information, and it would have to be worked and policed appropriately.

“You have to balance the two people’s rights, because someone could have done something aged 18 and could have completely changed now they’re in there 50s.

“If a person has been convicted of a violent crime more than seven years ago, then I don’t think it’s relevant to a current search, and if they’ve been on rehabilitation programmes and are willing to change, then that should also be part of the information.”

A spokeswoman for the STAR Centre in Rossendale said: “Sharing more information about abuse has got to be a good thing.

“About 50 per cent of the offenders will not be on the police’s radar, but if they have information they aren’t sharing, it only ups the risks for more victims in the future.”

Clare Wood had made complaints to the police about George Appleton before he killed her. Since her death, Miss Wood's father, Michael Brown, has campaigned for people to have greater rights to know the violent past of their partners.