An increase in demand for the counselling of victims of rape and sexual abuse has led to a desperate plea for skilled volunteers.

The Chelmsford Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre says it is facing an increasingly heavy demand for its services, provided entirely by volunteers.

Now it is appealing for women to take part in its training programme for telephone volunteers, beginning at the end of the month.

Figures produced by the centre show volunteers spent 206 hours offering support over the telephone in 1998 and 230 giving face to face counselling.

The calls come from across Chelmsford and surrounding areas.

But three-quarters of the situations dealt with involved abuse by a family member, with only eight per cent concerning a stranger.

Mary-Ann Taylor, chairman of the centre, said she and other volunteers have noticed the number of people coming to them has increased over the past ten years.

"I don't think this is necessarily because it is on the increase in the area but because women know we are here now and that there is help on hand," she added.

The centre, which recruits annually, is open for calls on Tuesday and Friday from 7.30pm to 9.30pm and the training programme would run on Tuesday in the centre of the town.

If you would like to volunteer, contact the centre on its business line on 01245 356260.

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