THE number of violent attacks by females has doubled in four years to an average of 240 a day.

New figures released by the Ministry of Justice show 8,200 women and girls were arrested for `violence against the person' in 2006/07.

That compares with just 42,200 in 2002/03 and 78,900 in 2005/06.

The rise represents an increase of 11 per cent on a year, and 106 per cent over four years.

Just over one quarter of the arrests of females for violence last year involved girls aged 17 or younger.

The number of girls and women arrested for criminal damage has risen from 16,200 to 22,600 over the same period. Yet arrests of females for other offences - including burglaries and drug offences - have actually fallen.

The Tories said violence by girls was being `fuelled' by the government's `lax approach to binge drinking'.

But a Home Office spokesman said the number of serious violent crimes had actually fallen by 12 per cent last year.

The number of males arrested for violence against the person has also rocketed - from 278,600 in 2002/03 to 400,900 in 2006/07.

The figures show the number of arrests for all offences rose four per cent between 2005/06 and 2006/07.

In Greater Manchester, the figure rose from 87,858 in 2005/06 to 89,510 in 2006/07 - an increase of two per cent.