WOMEN blocked bridges and stopped traffic in four cities yesterday to put pressure on the government over scant funding which forces domestic violence aid charities to compete for their very survival.

Existing refuges and support services would have to “fight each other” in bidding for cash from a temporary £20 million pot proposed by PM Theresa May, campaign group Sisters Uncut said.

Protesters met in London, Newcastle, Glasgow and Bristol to take a stand against six years of so-called austerity under the Tories that has seen 34 domestic violence refuges close down so far.

Waterloo Bridge was one of the places that came to a complete standstill.

Four in five women who are disabled, transgender and/or from a black or ethnic minority (BME) background are turned away from refuges and this is partly because specialist services that cater to them have been hardest hit by cuts, the group said.

Sisters Uncut said in a statement: “Safety is more important than papers and this lethal barrier to migrant survivors’ safety must be removed.

Stop blocking their bridges to safety.”

Campaigner Laura Jeffers told the Star that BME women are at risk of discrimination in their desperate times of need and migrants with no access to state funds are at higher risk of deportation if they approach authorities for help.

Two thirds of women who do not need specialist services are turned away from refuges.

Two women a week are killed in violent incidents the group says.

Names of women who have been killed by a violent partner or ex in the last year were read out during the protests in busy areas such as Trafalgar Square.

We need you support to keep running. If you like what you read please donate by clicking here