OFFENDERS convicted of stalking could be set to have their prison sentences almost doubled.

It comes after the Department for Justice announced plans for increasing maximum sentences for stalking available to courts in England and Wales from 5 years to 10.

Announcing the change, justice minister Sam Gyimah said in a statement: "Stalkers torment their victims and can make everyday life almost unbearable."

He added the sentences are being doubled to ensure that these "awful crimes can be properly punished."

Latest figures show that more than 4,000 stalking offences recorded in the last year, an increase of nearly a third in the past 12 months.

The government is planning to bring in the planned changes in an amendment to the Policing and Crime Bill which will be debated in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

The bill, which is in its final stages in Parliament, is likely to become law in the coming weeks.

The amendment will also increase the maximum sentence for harassment from the same time period and from 7 to 14 years if it the stalking incidents are racially or religiously aggravated.