A city council has pledged to stamp out forced marriages by taking a zero-tolerance approach.

Manchester City Council is launching a new set of guidelines issued to all agencies in the city who work with young people who may be forced into marriage.

The city is leading the way after the Government announced it was consulting on plans to criminalise the act of forcing someone to marry against their will.

Clerics and imams who participate in such marriages could then be liable to prosecution.

Jasvinder Sanghera, who was forced into marriage herself but now runs a refuge for women in Derby, welcomed the new initiative.

"Manchester is an excellent example. We are not going to tackle this without agencies coming together," she said.

"We see hundreds of cases a year but dont see people being held to account so we dont see prosecutions.

"Because of the shame and honour system, if they dont go through with it, it will disgrace the family. Parents need to be thinking about the child and put the child first."

Manchester City Council is aiming to point out there is a major difference between forced and arranged marriages where both parties agree to be wed.

The new document insists there is no justification for forced marriages on religious grounds, adding: "Every major faith condemns it and freely-given consent is a prerequisite of Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh marriages."

It states that for social reasons some parents come under significant pressure from their extended families to get their children married.

"While it is important to have an understanding of the motives that drive parents to force their children to marry, these motives should not be accepted as justification for denying them the right to choose a marriage partner."

Pauline Newman, the councils director of childrens services and boss of the Manchester domestic violence theme group, said: "The aim of the launch is to raise awareness of forced marriages.

"We want to make sure that everyone is working together and following these guidelines."