Violence in homes and on the streets worldwide devastates economies as well as lives, the UN health agency warned yesterday.

In its report the agency detailed how countries are spending billions a year dealing with the consequences of violence.

Some nations are devoting more than four per cent of their gross domestic product to arresting, trying and imprisoning violent offenders and providing medical and psychiatric care to victims of rape, child abuse and domestic violence, the World Health Organisation said.

Violent crime costs England and Wales almost £35 billion a year.

The report was released at a conference in Vienna on injury prevention.

Thursday June 10, 2004