A man has been arrested after three homes were raided across Kingston in the early hours of this morning.

Police arrested a 52-year-old man on suspicion of common assault on his partner, one of a series of dawn raids across the capital as part of Operation Athena.

The twice a year operation targets dangerous and prolific offenders suspected of committing domestic violence and hate crimes.

The operation aims to encourage more victims to come forward and to combat violence against women but also hate and faith crimes.

Kingston Borough Commander Martin Greenslade said: "These are vile crimes that target people when they are most vulnerable.

"Our approach is very simple - if you commit a crime and we have the evidence then we will put you before the courts."

The raids coincide with the police domestic violence campaign, which runs until December 30, and seeks to show people they can help stop domestic violence by taking action and calling 999.

Both the operation and the police campaign link in with the 16 days of Activism Against Gender Violence, marked across the world.

London's deputy mayor for policing, Kit Malthouse said: “We've prioritised combating all violence against women, and as Operation Athena today highlights, we will continue to make London a hostile environment for perpetrators of these heinous crimes. “Nobody should have to endure the trauma of domestic, racist or hate abuse and I urge victims to come forward and report incidents.

“I would also encourage friends, family and neighbours to speak to police on behalf of victims if needed so we can investigate and stop these criminals in their tracks."

The whole operation saw officers arrest 64 suspected perpetrators of domestic violence and hate crime across London's 32 boroughs.

The police have specialist investigators and community safety units in each borough dedicated to domestic violence and hate crime.

To contact Kingston Police Community Safety Unit phone 020 8247 5165.