Campaigners Southall Black Sisters are calling for the government to allow overseas brides who have to prove their marriage is working for the first two years to have access to benefits and housing.

Speaking at Community Care LIVE, co-ordinator Meena Patel said: "Thousands of women who marry British citizens are trapped in violent relationships because they have no access to services."

Suicide among these black and Asian women is up to three times the national average, Patel said.

She called on the Domestic Violence, Crime and Disorder Bill now going through parliament to cover immigrants.

At present, non-British brides have to prove their marriage is happy or risk deportation. They cannot go into refuges or have access to doctors, and their passports can be confiscated for the two-year period.