Three mums, whose daughters were murdered by violent ex-partners, have launched a trust to campaign for more Family Justice Centres in Britain.

Speaking at a conference in Croydon last week, two of the women, Tricia Bernal and Carol Faruqui said that their daughters would not have died if they had access to a centre.

Tricia’s daughter, Clare, 22, was shot dead in Harvey Nichols by a former boyfriend Michael Pech, who then killed himself. Carol’s daughter, Rana, 35, was stabbed to death in a field in Berkshire while out with her horse and Stella Moore’s daughter, Tania, 26 was shot in her car near her home in Derbyshire.

All three victims had been stalked by their ex-partners and all three had reported this to the police. Their mothers believe that if the police had used the same techniques, employed by Family Justice Centres, to asses the risk to the young women, then they would not have died.

On average two women a week die in Britain at the hands of a current or former partner. Croydon has the highest number of reported incidents of domestic violence out of all the London Boroughs.

In 2004, the year before the Family Justice Centre opened there were five domestic murders committed in Croydon. This dropped to zero in the following 18 months.

The centre, the only one of its kind in Europe, is based on a very successful American model.

It combines under one roof, all the services needed by victims of domestic violence, including social services, family law solicitors, relationship counsellors, the probation service and 32 officers of the Croydon borough Met Police community safety unit.

They carry out a risk assessment on everyone who walks through their doors.

Tricia Bernal, who has quit her job to devote her time to the CRT trust, said: “The police are driven by conviction rates and they often don’t have appropriate training. The Justice Centre is all about protecting the victims.

“I believe that our daughters died for change. It is our duty to do all we can to prevent this from happening to others. We are trying to raise funds for this campaign”

Cabinet member for safety and cohesion, Councillor Steve O’Connell said: “Croydon’s Family Justice Centre is proving to be an effective response in helping families to break the cycle of domestic and family violence. We help hundreds of families each month. Quite simply this centre saves lives.

"We’ve brought dozens of services together under one roof to give victims the help they need to rebuild their lives.”